**Official PC rig Pics/Specs/mods thread** What you packin brahs?

[SynapticCleft]

Okay, just making sure. Because the CD/DVD burner I'm getting says it's OEM so I wasn't sure if that meant it came with cables or not. And the HDD said it was a bare drive so I thought that mean it only came with the drive and no cables for it.You will be fine. Your motherboard comes with 4 SATA cables. And you can always buy them for cheap.



They are priced very similarly yet one is (seemingly) faster, and significantly larger. Is there some sort of catch? I don't want it to be too unstable because I hear larger drives fail more often than smaller ones. Also I didn't choose a 10,000 RPM drive because of platter instability issues I've heard of.Will you be doing a RAID 0 setup? The RE4's have TLER support, which allows the drive time to rebuild itself before dropping it out of the array if they get an error.The RE4's are way more reliable, in a RAID 0 configuration, if one drive fails you won't lose all your data. I have a WD Caviar Black 1TB as my main system drive and I have no issues with it being unreliable yet. If you are concerned about reliability look into the Samsung F3, I have 2 of these in a RAID 0 configuration and had no issues with it yet. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=22-152-185&SortField=0&SummaryType=0&Pagesize=10&PurchaseMark=&SelectedRating=-1&VideoOnlyMark=False&VendorMark=&IsFeedbackTab=true&Page=2#scrollFullInfo

[farquezy]

The built in fan on the side of my case has stopped working.
I dont know whether its something I did or if it just gave up.

Anyone know a solution to this? How can I know for sure if its broken? If broken, what should i replace it with?

[BobbyLite]

The built in fan on the side of my case has stopped working.
I dont know whether its something I did or if it just gave up.

Anyone know a solution to this? How can I know for sure if its broken? If broken, what should i replace it with?
whats the size in mm's
Is it connected to the motherboard header or directly to psu, sometimes the pins back themselves out of the molex's. Check the pins on the plug.

[farquezy]

whats the size in mm's
Is it connected to the motherboard header or directly to psu, sometimes the pins back themselves out of the molex's. Check the pins on the plug.
What is "molex"?
The pins are the little metal things inside the plug right? so check them and do what?

BTW, the fan is 13 cm, to 130 mm, i think since I only used a ruler to measure it lol

[ekolow]

Just placed my order or Amazon and Newegg.... Biggest purchase I have ever made...all on the credit card.
Video Card, came with Deus Ex HR. HIS IceQ Turbo 2gb 6950
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004WZ0HQ6/ref=ox_ya_os_product
LIAN LI Lancool PC-K7B Black Aluminum/ SECC ATX Mid Tower Computer Case

Asus VH238H Black 23" Full HD HDMI LED Backlight LCD Monitor w/Speakers

ASRock P67 EXTREME4 GEN3 LGA 1155 Intel P67 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard

Intel Core i5-2500K

CORSAIR Enthusiast Series TX850 V2 850W

CORSAIR Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600

COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 Plus

and a standard dvd burner

Battlefield 3 basically forced my hand, it said I needed to update my drivers to a minimum point with my graphics card, but the last time a driver update was made for my laptop was in 2009.
Oh well, should all be here tuesday/wednesday
Total Price - $1157

Will probably buy a second card and a SSD around christmas time.

[SynapticCleft]

What is "molex"?
The pins are the little metal things inside the plug right? so check them and do what?

BTW, the fan is 13 cm, to 130 mm, i think since I only used a ruler to measure it lolDid you measure it diagonally? Also does the fan have a name or manufacturer?

[farquezy]

Did you measure it diagonally? Also does the fan have a name or manufacturer?here is my case, and no it wasnt diagonally. The fan came with the case

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811208020

http://www.xionusa.com/Product-case-XionONYX.asp

[SynapticCleft]

here is my case, and no it wasnt diagonally. The fan came with the case

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811208020

http://www.xionusa.com/Product-case-XionONYX.asp
You have a 140mm fan. You need to take the molex connector and fit it on to your PSU cable. Your pins may have been bent out of alignment, so realign them.

[MSEgyp]

ATI HD5770
1920x1080
4GB RAM
i5 750

Starting to lag behind a bit. I'm think about getting a new graphics card and maybe another 2 gigs of RAM. Just can't wait to see how well I can run BF3.

[farquezy]

You have a 140mm fan. You need to take the molex connector and fit it on to your PSU cable. Your pins may have been bent out of alignment, so realign them.
I got this computer from cyber powered pc in 2009, the fan gave out about a month or two ago.

I took the pc out, the pins on the molex connector seemed fine, I cant really tell what the problem is, could the fan have just given up?
I have a hard time digging into my PC since all the wiring was all like stapled to the sides and **** to keep it nice and clean so I couldnt delve deeply into it.
Any other suggestions?

What I am worried about most is my generic PSU, even though its been going fine for the past 2 years, can it handle two crossfire 6950?
its called: 800 Watts Power Supplies (CyberPowerPC XF800S Performance ATX 2.0 Power - Quad SLI Ready)


Anyways, since I plan on buying a new graphics card and hopefully Crossfire one day, lets deal with this problem.
So I was looking at my motherboard, and I seems a bit to small for crossfiring two 6970/6950? What do you guys think?


reps for help


http://i51.tinypic.com/1222s93.jpg
http://i52.tinypic.com/cmiw8.jpg

http://static.trustedreviews.com/4588df|623b_11105-p6tseboxboard.jpg

[SynapticCleft]

Did you try hooking up the pins directly to the PSU? Not just to the motherboard. If that doesn't work, just buy a replacement 140mm fan on newegg.

I crunched the math on the power you need for your PSU. To crossfire 6970 you can use your current power supply the max you would need is 750w (Calculator: http://www.antec.com/psucalc/), however I can't seem to see pics of your 6/8 pin power connectors. I would advise you to take an exacto knife and cut all the zip ties. You can zip tie them again once you have everything in place.

Your motherboard is fine, there is more than enough room. The 6970 and 6950 are around 10.3in - 11in depending on if they are using custom pcb or reference (stock). The only problem I see is the HDD, I would move it out of the way of the pci-e slots so the graphics cards can have more room if needed.

[James086]

My second Maximus 4 Extreme died so I replaced it with a Gigabyte Z68X-UD7. So now:
i7 2600K - currently stock but I had it 24/7 stable on the Maximus 4 Extreme at 5.0GHz
4GB 2133MHz 9-9-9-21 GSkill RipjawsX RAM
3x GTX580
OCZ Vertex 2 SSD
Silverstone 1500W PSU
http://i.imgur.com/oKqMY.jpg

[comps]

Laptop
Asus 53sv series
i7 2ghz turbo boost 2.9ghz
8gb ddr3 ram
nvidia 540m gt
1368x768 eww.
windows 7
750gb hdd 5400m

[ezrafitch1990]

My second Maximus 4 Extreme died so I replaced it with a Gigabyte Z68X-UD7. So now:
i7 2600K - currently stock but I had it 24/7 stable on the Maximus 4 Extreme at 5.0GHz
4GB 2133MHz 9-9-9-21 GSkill RipjawsX RAM
3x GTX580
OCZ Vertex 2 SSD
Silverstone 1500W PSU
http://i.imgur.com/oKqMY.jpg
mirin graphics cards and cooling system

[lostskittles]

hey brahs i got a couple questions

first my goal is to run SWTOR on max settings.

do you think that can be accomplished with this comp?

-Case ( NZXT Guardian 921 RB Gaming Case - Black w/ Red Light )
-Processor ( AMD Phenom™ II X4 965 CPU (4x 3.40GHz/6MB L3 Cache)
-Memory ( 8 GB [2 GB X4] DDR3-1333 Memory Module - ** FREE Upgrade to DDR3-1600 ** Corsair or Major Brand )
-Video Card ( NVIDIA GeForce GTX 560 Ti - 1GB - Single Card )
-Motherboard ( Gigabyte GA-970A-D3 -- AMD 970 )
-Power Supply ( 700 Watt -- Standard )
-Primary Hard Drive ( 1 TB HARD DRIVE -- 16M Cache, 7200 RPM, 3.0Gb/s - Single Drive )

also if you guys get the chance can you give me a recommendation of a monitor to run max setting?

[SynapticCleft]

hey brahs i got a couple questions

first my goal is to run SWTOR on max settings.

do you think that can be accomplished with this comp?

-Case ( NZXT Guardian 921 RB Gaming Case - Black w/ Red Light )
-Processor ( AMD Phenom™ II X4 965 CPU (4x 3.40GHz/6MB L3 Cache)
-Memory ( 8 GB [2 GB X4] DDR3-1333 Memory Module - ** FREE Upgrade to DDR3-1600 ** Corsair or Major Brand )
-Video Card ( NVIDIA GeForce GTX 560 Ti - 1GB - Single Card )
-Motherboard ( Gigabyte GA-970A-D3 -- AMD 970 )
-Power Supply ( 700 Watt -- Standard )
-Primary Hard Drive ( 1 TB HARD DRIVE -- 16M Cache, 7200 RPM, 3.0Gb/s - Single Drive )

also if you guys get the chance can you give me a recommendation of a monitor to run max setting?SWTOR isnt going to be graphics extensive. It is an mmo after all and most mmo are designed so people with ****ty rigs can play them. Your setup will be able to run SWTOR at max graphics setting without any problems. You can actually get away with a 460 or 5770.

Id get a monitor with a resolution of 1920x1200 or 1920x1080.

[lostskittles]

SWTOR isnt going to be graphics extensive. It is an mmo after all and most mmo are designed so people with ****ty rigs can play them. Your setup will be able to run SWTOR at max graphics setting without any problems. You can actually get away with a 460 or 5770.

Id get a monitor with a resolution of 1920x1200 or 1920x1080.

Thanks bro thats what i wanted to hear.

Size doesnt matter?

Just resolution?

[James086]

Thanks bro thats what i wanted to hear.

Size doesnt matter?

Just resolution?
Correct, the pc doesn't know how big the screen is, only the number of pixels (resolution). If you have a 24" with 1920*1080 and your pc can run at 60fps then it will be able to run at 60fps on a 50" tv screen with the same resolution.

[lostskittles]

Correct, the pc doesn't know how big the screen is, only the number of pixels (resolution). If you have a 24" with 1920*1080 and your pc can run at 60fps then it will be able to run at 60fps on a 50" tv screen with the same resolution.

Oh sweet.

Thanks for you help brah

sorry im a new at this whole thing..

my $400 laptop runs wow just fine.

first time actually buy a desktop.

[Hollisio]

So i just replaced my old AMD Athlon 64x2 6000+ cpu with a AMD Phenom™ II X4 965 CPU and i can hardly tell the difference?

I got a slightly higher WPI on windows, the 64x2 getting a 6.1 and the Phenom a 6.7, but honestly it dosent feel quicker in any games. Deus ex is still the same FPS as before?

Is there some software which allows me to set this **** up proper or some way to enable all cores? Thanks.

Just went into msconfig and it had 2 cores in boot, so just unchecked that and hopefully it will utilize all 4 now..not sure if that will fix it though.

[SynapticCleft]

Umm cpu doesn't affect games much. You should have upgraded your graphics card.

[Hollisio]

Aye well had a fiddle and everything is running alot better now, think i only had 2 cores engaged but 4 show up on task manager now so good times. Worth the money..just need to get a 560ti now :D

[Jlister]

- a phenom II quadcore 3.2ghz processor
- 500gb hard drive
- netgear wireless N card with antenna (no more messy cables)
- 9600gt graphics card
- 4gb ddr2 ram
- Can come with Win7, linux or winxp depending on what you want
- Raidmax Smilodon case

is any of this good? its all for sale on craigslist for $425

[SynapticCleft]

Are you planning on gaming with that? If so you will have problems playing games, 9600gt isnt a spectacular card for gaming. If you only want a comp for internet or word, that comp will be just fine.

[PepperedAngus]

hey brahs i got a couple questions

first my goal is to run SWTOR on max settings.

do you think that can be accomplished with this comp?

-Case ( NZXT Guardian 921 RB Gaming Case - Black w/ Red Light )
-Processor ( AMD Phenom™ II X4 965 CPU (4x 3.40GHz/6MB L3 Cache)
-Memory ( 8 GB [2 GB X4] DDR3-1333 Memory Module - ** FREE Upgrade to DDR3-1600 ** Corsair or Major Brand )
-Video Card ( NVIDIA GeForce GTX 560 Ti - 1GB - Single Card )
-Motherboard ( Gigabyte GA-970A-D3 -- AMD 970 )
-Power Supply ( 700 Watt -- Standard )
-Primary Hard Drive ( 1 TB HARD DRIVE -- 16M Cache, 7200 RPM, 3.0Gb/s - Single Drive )

also if you guys get the chance can you give me a recommendation of a monitor to run max setting?

your HHD is the only thing that might slow you down some.

SWTOR is a heavy load screen game, so you want an SSD to speed up the loads. I ran the first few test phases on a std 7200 rpm drive, then upgraded to my crucial SSD for the last two test phases, and the load time was cut in half or more.

the rest looks fine, and honestly youll run it as you stand right now no problem in hi res, but your loads will be long.

[Jlister]

Are you planning on gaming with that? If so you will have problems playing games, 9600gt isnt a spectacular card for gaming. If you only want a comp for internet or word, that comp will be just fine.

ya i plan on playing games like bf3 and skyrim and would like to play them in hd. what should i offer him since ill be needing to buy a new graphics card

[lostskittles]

your HHD is the only thing that might slow you down some.

SWTOR is a heavy load screen game, so you want an SSD to speed up the loads. I ran the first few test phases on a std 7200 rpm drive, then upgraded to my crucial SSD for the last two test phases, and the load time was cut in half or more.

the rest looks fine, and honestly youll run it as you stand right now no problem in hi res, but your loads will be long.

not to worried by that tbh.

i can watch a load screen for an extra thirty seconds

thanks for the advice though

[SynapticCleft]

ya i plan on playing games like bf3 and skyrim and would like to play them in hd. what should i offer him since ill be needing to buy a new graphics cardWhat is your budget for the entire rig and what is the size of the monitor you will be playing on?

[Jlister]

What is your budget for the entire rig and what is the size of the monitor you will be playing on?

i have a 32" hd samsung and my budget right now would only be like $500 but would do upgrades later.

[SynapticCleft]

i have a 32" hd samsung and my budget right now would only be like $500 but would do upgrades later.I would get a 550ti or 6770. The best would be a 460. Also is the ram really ddr2? I would be a skeptical hippo right about now especially that you are ordering it off craigslist.

[Jlister]

is the ddr2 bad? i have no idea about this shiit

[SynapticCleft]

DDR2 isn't bad it's just uncommon these days when ddr3 is considered the standard. Along with being an older technology DDR2 has lower frequencies than ddr3 so if you stick a high performance cpu with ddr2 it will not be able to deliver data from memory fast enough to keep up with the cpu.

[Jlister]

ok. what would you offer this guy for this shiit

[SynapticCleft]

Hard to tell since the motherboard isnt listed. What is the exact name of the cpu?

I'd pay only $350 max. Are you comfortable with building a PC? Because you can get a powerful comp for $500.

[Jlister]

to be honest i would prefer buying a tower and just upgrading here and there. figured a cheap gaming cpu and then upgrading one or two things would be my best bet considering i dont know the difference between a processor and a motherboard. also what i listed is what he listed. ill email him and ask what the cpu is and offer 250. thanks again for all the help bro. measly reps

[Jlister]

i guess he just sold it for 400 to some dumbass. i guess i can progressively build a rig....looks like im gonna be doing some research

[TouchdownRobots]

i guess he just sold it for 400 to some dumbass. i guess i can progressively build a rig....looks like im gonna be doing some research
see if you live near a Fry's, Microcenter, or Tiger Direct store. you can buy all your parts there and they'll put it together for you pretty cheap.

[Jlister]

i do live down the street from a microseconds store. ill check them out today

[Jlister]

what if i just upgrade my laptop? its a year old hp pavilion dv6 with a i3 core and a intel hd 3000 graphics. ive played wow on it and just got really hot. obviously the graphics werent the best but it was playable for me. if i just upgrade the processor to an i5 will it be able to play steam games until skyrim comes out?

[PepperedAngus]

not to worried by that tbh.

i can watch a load screen for an extra thirty seconds

thanks for the advice though

Yeah I hear you, paying 200 clams for a SSD when the tech is still pretty new and unreliable long term is rough, but since im awash in moolah and DGAF, I got one just to test out how fast it was, and for load screens and zoning between planets its really fast.

I mainly PvP so the constant in and out of going to the warzone instances drives me crazy with long load times.

cheers brah. Hope to see some of you guys in game, sometimes i feel like I am the only one who even lifts in that beta...

[Impregnator]

some sik setups in this thread.

thinking about upgrading the corsair h50 to the new h100.. anyone got it and confirm if its worth it?? or if theres a better all in one easy watercooling setup?
i really dont want to go all out on a REAL h20 setup.

supertrooper with h50 installed.
http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g291/TorxT3D/newpc/IMAG0018_sm.jpg

h100 or better?
http://techgage.com/images/news/corsair_h100_060211.jpg

[trainTilfailure]

Processor: Intel I5-2500K
Motherboard: Gigabyte z68X-UD3H-B3
Graphics Card: EVGAGTX 560
Power Supply: Corsair TX650M 80+ Certified
CoolMaster 922 HAF Case
Harddrive: 500GB 7200RPM
RAM: 8GB Kingston RAM
ASUS Network PCE-N13 Wireless Card

https://post.craigslist.org/imagepreview/n/5O65V55R53ma3p33l7ba5a06446f2b3381ae3.jpg
https://post.craigslist.org/imagepreview/n/5O35W05P03mb3o93l1ba58db9781ca901116c.jpg

[ekolow]

Finished putting together my rig, 2gb 6950, 2500k, 1TB spinpoint, 8gb RAM.

How do some of you have such nice cabling? My interior looks like a mess with power cords everywhere...I have a corsair 850W and it seems to have a ton of pins I dont need

[SynapticCleft]

It depends alot on your case and a modular power supply really helps.

My rig cleaned up a bit.
http://i.imgur.com/6Ed7u.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/W4WPT.jpg

[TouchdownRobots]

It depends alot on your case and a modular power supply really helps.

My rig cleaned up a bit.
http://i.imgur.com/6Ed7u.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/W4WPT.jpg

mirin the silverstone raven. thinking of getting one for myself

[ekolow]

So I put my computer together last night and got around to playing today.
i5 2500k
HIS IceQ 2gb 6950
8gb corsair RAM
850W PSU
Put it together with a 1TB spinpoint.
Computer starts up very fast, and everything opens very fast, happy so far.
I've played BF3, Metro 2033, CSS, TF2 Deus Ex, and BFBC2
BF3 plays very smoothly on High inside and outside on metro, It is playable on Ultra inside only, otherwise the frame rate drops into the low 20s.
CSS runs at 298 fps constant, TF2 goes around 250 constant.
BFBC2 runs on highest very smoothly. Metro 2033 runs on ultra, however when I was doing the opening mission and that watcher hoard rolls through and **** gets messed up the fram rate dips into the 20s, still playable, but on High it was very good. Deus Ex is on highest settings, and runs great.

[Alexio1992]

Can't wait to build my new PC next year, think I might wait until Intel releases Ivy bridge and the Radeon 7000 series are out.

[bov188]

Can someone recommend me a power supply unit to go with this card? i really am not sure what to look for, all i know is i need at least 500 watts

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102948&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction&cm_mmc=AFC-C8Junction-_-RSSDailyDeals-_-na-_-na&AID=10521304&PID=4176827&SID=8801t0k4bioh

i currently have a 430w psu but i dont think that will cut it

[SynapticCleft]

Here you go: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371016

I try to stick with the name brands that have a decent track record (antec, cooler master, corsair etc) or look for models that are certified.

If you are unsure if your 430w psu will run your new card plug your comp's specs into this psu calculator: http://extreme.outervision.com/psucalculatorlite.jsp

[farquezy]

What risks do I run running good hardware on **** PSU?

I am buying a 6950 sometime, but I have a no name generic 800W PSU which has been doing perfectly fine for the past 2 years.
Should I be worried?
Of course when I crossfire I will buy a better PSU that is certified.

[James086]

You risk frying everything that plugs into your PSU (ie everything), it happens to too many people unfortunately. There are even 1100W PSUs from terrible brands that are known to die well below what they claim to provide. I honestly couldn't say whether it can handle a 6950 without testing it. I would suggest a 750W PSU if you want to crossfire in the future. Look for somehting from Seasonic, Silverstone, OCZ, Corsair, SuperFlower, Kingwin or Antec but stay the hell away from Rosewill or suspiciously cheap brands.

[TouchdownRobots]

What risks do I run running good hardware on **** PSU?

I am buying a 6950 sometime, but I have a no name generic 800W PSU which has been doing perfectly fine for the past 2 years.
Should I be worried?
Of course when I crossfire I will buy a better PSU that is certified.

Well it could blow and take your motherboard, cpu, video card and everything else along with it.

I suggest you look at the label on the PSU. Find the manufacturer part number and look it up. it could be made by a decent OEM. For example, corsair and antec dont make their own PSU's, they are made by an OEM. Also find out how many +12V rails you have and the amperage to each rail. Post it here and we can tell if it is good or not.

[1234bber]

About to buy? Is it good help!

Motherboard:
ASUS M5A88-M-EVO AMD - $139
CPU - AMD Phenom II X6 1055T Six Core Design 2.8Ghz / 3.3Ghz Turbo Core 9MB Cache - $169
PSU - tHERMALTAKE 500W TR2 BRONZE Peak Power 600W - $85
RAM - Kingston HyperX 8GB(4GBx2) - $69
HDD - SeaGate 1TB 7200rpm SATA-3 32meg Cache Barracuda - $59
GRAPHICS CARD - GIGABYTE GTX550Ti OVERCLOCK 1GB GDDR5 - $165
CASE - THERMALTAKE SOPRANO DX (ALREADY BOUGHT IT) - $79

Overall like $750'ish.

[bov188]

Here you go: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371016

I try to stick with the name brands that have a decent track record (antec, cooler master, corsair etc) or look for models that are certified.

If you are unsure if your 430w psu will run your new card plug your comp's specs into this psu calculator: http://extreme.outervision.com/psucalculatorlite.jsp

Thanks a lot man. The only problem is I see that psu has a fan on the top? But my case doesn't have a spot for a fan on top??? I actually have a dell xps if that helps

Sorry I'm a huge noob at this

Edit* jk that's the bottom isn't it? Lmao

[1234bber]

About to buy? Is it good help!

Motherboard:
ASUS M5A88-M-EVO AMD - $139
CPU - AMD Phenom II X6 1055T Six Core Design 2.8Ghz / 3.3Ghz Turbo Core 9MB Cache - $169
PSU - tHERMALTAKE 500W TR2 BRONZE Peak Power 600W - $85
RAM - Kingston HyperX 8GB(4GBx2) - $69
HDD - SeaGate 1TB 7200rpm SATA-3 32meg Cache Barracuda - $59
GRAPHICS CARD - GIGABYTE GTX550Ti OVERCLOCK 1GB GDDR5 - $165
CASE - THERMALTAKE SOPRANO DX (ALREADY BOUGHT IT) - $79

Overall like $750'ish.

buurrmmpppppppp

[TouchdownRobots]

About to buy? Is it good help!

Motherboard:
ASUS M5A88-M-EVO AMD - $139
CPU - AMD Phenom II X6 1055T Six Core Design 2.8Ghz / 3.3Ghz Turbo Core 9MB Cache - $169
PSU - tHERMALTAKE 500W TR2 BRONZE Peak Power 600W - $85
RAM - Kingston HyperX 8GB(4GBx2) - $69
HDD - SeaGate 1TB 7200rpm SATA-3 32meg Cache Barracuda - $59
GRAPHICS CARD - GIGABYTE GTX550Ti OVERCLOCK 1GB GDDR5 - $165
CASE - THERMALTAKE SOPRANO DX (ALREADY BOUGHT IT) - $79

Overall like $750'ish.

change the mobo to a AM3+ board. 970 chipset if you dont want to crossfire and 990fx if you do want to crossfire.
no point in getting an X6 CPU for gaming. Just go with the X4 955 or 965
i think you could do better on the PSU for the price. I recommend seasonic, corsair or antec. modular if you can find one for easier cable management
you should be able to find some cheaper RAM. look for DDR3 1600 from Corsair or G Skill
Hard drive I'd get either a western digital black or a Samsung Spinpoint
try to put more money into your video card. I'd go HD6870 or 560ti at a minimum. HD6950 is a good buy as well

[SynapticCleft]

About to buy? Is it good help!

GRAPHICS CARD - GIGABYTE GTX550Ti OVERCLOCK 1GB GDDR5 - $165
Are you going to be gaming? I would get at least a 460 over the 550. Also if you plan on overclocking in the future becareful with factory overclocked cards. Some companies actually physically disable your ability to tweak the voltages. If you can get a reference card, get that and overclock it yourself.


Thanks a lot man. The only problem is I see that psu has a fan on the top? But my case doesn't have a spot for a fan on top??? I actually have a dell xps if that helps

Sorry I'm a huge noob at this

Edit* jk that's the bottom isn't it? Lmao
I don't know the layout of the inside of an xps, but you could always mount the psu to vent the air inside the case. overall it should not be a problem.

[theshoupguy]

Hey brahs,

So in a nutshell, my computer is going on 5.5 years old, and I'm looking to upgrade within the next 6mo or so.
Only problem is, I don't want to fork out the $$$ for a prepackaged rig, but I know I'm going to end up screwing something up if I order all the parts and have at it. It's been forever since I've done any sort of serious upgrading/building, and I'd rather not spend more money on screwing up.

My question -- what would be better, going with a site like iBuyPower (better than buying straight from HP, Dell, etc), or suck it up, buy the parts from Newegg, and pray I buy all the right pieces?

[YouMadBro]

Hey brahs,

So in a nutshell, my computer is going on 5.5 years old, and I'm looking to upgrade within the next 6mo or so.
Only problem is, I don't want to fork out the $$$ for a prepackaged rig, but I know I'm going to end up screwing something up if I order all the parts and have at it. It's been forever since I've done any sort of serious upgrading/building, and I'd rather not spend more money on screwing up.

My question -- what would be better, going with a site like iBuyPower (better than buying straight from HP, Dell, etc), or suck it up, buy the parts from Newegg, and pray I buy all the right pieces?


You should definitely build the computer yourself. It's not very hard and it's a good skill to have in case any of your parts break, you'll know how to diagnose and replace the parts if needed.

To see if things are compatible, you can google the item in question and look at the compatibility list for it. The only thing you really need to match up with are the CPU and motherboard and RAM. All the other pieces are usually compatible for all systems.


If you aren't in a rush to build it, you should use sites such as www.slickdeals.net to find deals on the parts you're looking for.
They currently have a sale for a 1 TB Internal Hard drive for $34 if you wanted to start piecing together the parts
Link below:
http://slickdeals.net/forums/showthread.php?sduid=1476426&t=3341428

[theshoupguy]

You should definitely build the computer yourself. It's not very hard and it's a good skill to have in case any of your parts break, you'll know how to diagnose and replace the parts if needed.

To see if things are compatible, you can google the item in question and look at the compatibility list for it. The only thing you really need to match up with are the CPU and motherboard and RAM. All the other pieces are usually compatible for all systems.


If you aren't in a rush to build it, you should use sites such as www.slickdeals.net to find deals on the parts you're looking for.
They currently have a sale for a 1 TB Internal Hard drive for $34 if you wanted to start piecing together the parts
Link below:
http://slickdeals.net/forums/showthread.php?sduid=1476426&t=3341428Thanks - I was hearing a couple good things about iBuyPower, but then found a bunch of reviews/comments about how they aren't much better than buying from the bigger company stores.

It worked pretty alright for getting the pieces figured out so I can hunt them down on NewEgg though. Here's what I'm considering at the moment:


CASE: CoolerMaster HAF 932 Full Tower Gaming Case-Silver/Gray 2-Tone
PROCESSOR: Intel® Core™ i7-2600 Processor (4x 3.40GHz/8MB L3 Cache)
MOTHERBOARD: [3-Way SLI] Gigabyte GA-Z68X-UD7-B3 -- 2x Gb LAN, 4x PCI-E 2.0 x16, 6x USB 3.0
MEMORY: 8 GB [4 GB X2] DDR3-1600 Memory Module-Corsair or Major Brand
VIDEO CARD: DUAL NVIDIA GeForce GTX 560 Ti - 1GB - EVGA Superclocked - Core: 900MHz
POWER SUPPLY: 1000 Watt -- Extreme Gaming Series
COOLING: Liquid CPU Cooling System [SOCKET-1155]-ARC Dual Silent High Performance Fan Upgrade (Push-Pull Airflow)
PRIMARY HD: 120 GB Corsair Force Series 3 F120 SSD-Single Drive
OPTICAL: 24X Dual Format/Double Layer DVD±R/±RW + CD-R/RW Drive-Black
SOUND: Creative Labs Sound Blaster X-Fi Xtreme Audio
NETWORK: Onboard LAN Network (Gb or 10/100)
KEYBOARD: Razer BlackWidow Gaming Keyboard
MOUSE: Razer Mamba 5600dpi Wired/Wireless 7-button Gaming Mouse
OS: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium + Office Starter 2010 (Includes basic versions of Word and Excel)-64-Bit
EXTRA: [6-Port] NZXT Internal USB Expansion System
----------------------
iBuyPower Subtotal: $2007.00

Any recommendations before I start the hunt for hardware? I have a feeling I'll have to go a different route than the liquid cooling... ain't going to mess with that sh!t.

[TouchdownRobots]

Hey brahs,

So in a nutshell, my computer is going on 5.5 years old, and I'm looking to upgrade within the next 6mo or so.
Only problem is, I don't want to fork out the $$$ for a prepackaged rig, but I know I'm going to end up screwing something up if I order all the parts and have at it. It's been forever since I've done any sort of serious upgrading/building, and I'd rather not spend more money on screwing up.

My question -- what would be better, going with a site like iBuyPower (better than buying straight from HP, Dell, etc), or suck it up, buy the parts from Newegg, and pray I buy all the right pieces?

sounds like you have 6 months to research. i suggest checking out the forums at tomshardware.com, overclock.net and anandtech.com. also newegg has youtube videos that walk you through building your own rig

[James086]

I assume this is a gaming PC with a budget of $2000.

CASE: CoolerMaster HAF 932 Full Tower Gaming Case-Silver/Gray 2-Tone
Pretty ugly case (my opinion) you might prefer a Fractal R3
PROCESSOR: Intel® Core™ i7-2600 Processor (4x 3.40GHz/8MB L3 Cache)
For gaming get the i5 2500 (or i5 2500K if you want to overclock)
MOTHERBOARD: [3-Way SLI] Gigabyte GA-Z68X-UD7-B3 -- 2x Gb LAN, 4x PCI-E 2.0 x16, 6x USB 3.0
That motherboard costs more mainly because it allows 3 way SLI which you aren't using, a GA-Z68X-UD4 will save some money, I prefer Asus though and would recommend an Asus P8Z68 Pro (or P8P67 Pro, it will be essentially the same).
MEMORY: 8 GB [4 GB X2] DDR3-1600 Memory Module-Corsair or Major Brand
You can't really go wrong, you just need DDR3 memory but not the cheapest stuff, 1600MHz is fast enough
VIDEO CARD: DUAL NVIDIA GeForce GTX 560 Ti - 1GB - EVGA Superclocked - Core: 900MHz
For $2000 I'd be looking at 2 Nvidia GTX570s or 2 AMD HD6970s and cheapening the motherboard, mouse and sound card. Maybe even a smaller SSD
POWER SUPPLY: 1000 Watt -- Extreme Gaming Series
It doesn't say what brand, this is probably a bad thing. You want one from one of these brands: Seasonic, Silverstone, OCZ, Corsair, SuperFlower, Kingwin or Antec (maybe some more I've forgotten). It is worth spending the extra money for these reliable brands.
COOLING: Liquid CPU Cooling System [SOCKET-1155]-ARC Dual Silent High Performance Fan Upgrade (Push-Pull Airflow)
Not too sure what this means, I have a custom water loop but this might be a sealed kit. If you aren't overclocking then you can just use the stock cooler that comes with the cpu.
PRIMARY HD: 120 GB Corsair Force Series 3 F120 SSD-Single Drive
Good choice. I use 60GB and only have the OS, programs and quick files on there (I keep games, music, videos etc on other drives), 120Gb will be plenty of space.
OPTICAL: 24X Dual Format/Double Layer DVD±R/±RW + CD-R/RW Drive-Black
Get whatever here, they're all so cheap and hardly ever used
SOUND: Creative Labs Sound Blaster X-Fi Xtreme Audio
Are you an audiophile? If you are then get a sound card, if you don't really care then use the onboard sound on the motherboard. There's a noticeable difference in quality but it's not like the included soundchips don't work.
NETWORK: Onboard LAN Network (Gb or 10/100)
Included on the motherboard, unless you are doing some fancy networking it will be fine.
KEYBOARD: Razer BlackWidow Gaming Keyboard
I think Razer is overpriced, however this is a mechanical keyboard so it justifies the expense here.
MOUSE: Razer Mamba 5600dpi Wired/Wireless 7-button Gaming Mouse
Overpriced. I would recommend a Coolermaster Storm Sentinel, just as good but half the price.
OS: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium + Office Starter 2010 (Includes basic versions of Word and Excel)-64-Bit
EXTRA: [6-Port] NZXT Internal USB Expansion System
I doubt you need this. There are 10 USB ports on the motherboard selected above and another 2 on the front of the case.
----------------------
iBuyPower Subtotal: $2007.00

[Flex3d]

http://i1002.photobucket.com/albums/af150/The_FalconO6/CurrentLogicalPCBuyingGuide/Guide.png

Quoting myself again since people are asking questions about what to buy... check out the guide. No need to spend 2grand on a PC.

[theshoupguy]

I assume this is a gaming PC with a budget of $2000.
Nope, budget is more around $3000 - that list was just what iBuyPower said the bundle would cost.

CASE: CoolerMaster HAF 932 Full Tower Gaming Case-Silver/Gray 2-Tone
1. Pretty ugly case (my opinion) you might prefer a Fractal R3
PROCESSOR: Intel® Core™ i7-2600 Processor (4x 3.40GHz/8MB L3 Cache)
2. For gaming get the i5 2500 (or i5 2500K if you want to overclock)
MOTHERBOARD: [3-Way SLI] Gigabyte GA-Z68X-UD7-B3 -- 2x Gb LAN, 4x PCI-E 2.0 x16, 6x USB 3.0
3. That motherboard costs more mainly because it allows 3 way SLI which you aren't using, a GA-Z68X-UD4 will save some money, I prefer Asus though and would recommend an Asus P8Z68 Pro (or P8P67 Pro, it will be essentially the same).
MEMORY: 8 GB [4 GB X2] DDR3-1600 Memory Module-Corsair or Major Brand
4. You can't really go wrong, you just need DDR3 memory but not the cheapest stuff, 1600MHz is fast enough
VIDEO CARD: DUAL NVIDIA GeForce GTX 560 Ti - 1GB - EVGA Superclocked - Core: 900MHz
5. For $2000 I'd be looking at 2 Nvidia GTX570s or 2 AMD HD6970s and cheapening the motherboard, mouse and sound card. Maybe even a smaller SSD
POWER SUPPLY: 1000 Watt -- Extreme Gaming Series
6. It doesn't say what brand, this is probably a bad thing. You want one from one of these brands: Seasonic, Silverstone, OCZ, Corsair, SuperFlower, Kingwin or Antec (maybe some more I've forgotten). It is worth spending the extra money for these reliable brands.
COOLING: Liquid CPU Cooling System [SOCKET-1155]-ARC Dual Silent High Performance Fan Upgrade (Push-Pull Airflow)
7. Not too sure what this means, I have a custom water loop but this might be a sealed kit. If you aren't overclocking then you can just use the stock cooler that comes with the cpu.
PRIMARY HD: 120 GB Corsair Force Series 3 F120 SSD-Single Drive
8. Good choice. I use 60GB and only have the OS, programs and quick files on there (I keep games, music, videos etc on other drives), 120Gb will be plenty of space.
OPTICAL: 24X Dual Format/Double Layer DVD±R/±RW + CD-R/RW Drive-Black
9. Get whatever here, they're all so cheap and hardly ever used
SOUND: Creative Labs Sound Blaster X-Fi Xtreme Audio
10. Are you an audiophile? If you are then get a sound card, if you don't really care then use the onboard sound on the motherboard. There's a noticeable difference in quality but it's not like the included soundchips don't work.
NETWORK: Onboard LAN Network (Gb or 10/100)
11. Included on the motherboard, unless you are doing some fancy networking it will be fine.
KEYBOARD: Razer BlackWidow Gaming Keyboard
12. I think Razer is overpriced, however this is a mechanical keyboard so it justifies the expense here.
MOUSE: Razer Mamba 5600dpi Wired/Wireless 7-button Gaming Mouse
13. Overpriced. I would recommend a Coolermaster Storm Sentinel, just as good but half the price.
OS: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium + Office Starter 2010 (Includes basic versions of Word and Excel)-64-Bit
EXTRA: [6-Port] NZXT Internal USB Expansion System
14. I doubt you need this. There are 10 USB ports on the motherboard selected above and another 2 on the front of the case.
----------------------
iBuyPower Subtotal: $2007.00
*Note - Overall, there isn't really a budget... but I don't want to overpay like crazy for the most top-of-the-line pieces. At the same time, I don't want to get something that will become below-average in less than two years. Kinda looking for that "high above average for today's standards" without getting into the "extreme ultimate best-money-can-buy" area. (Hope that makes sense.)

1. Looks pretty solid - I'll have to check that case out.
2. Pretty set on the quad-core i7 -- isn't quite as crazy as the six-core ($1k for that thing? jesus), but see note above.
edit# Reading through the chart posted above, saying i5 is really all I'd need for gaming these days. Still wondering if it'd be better to go for the quad-core i7, since I do a decent amount of graphic design & rendering as well.
3. Fantastic - didn't know that about the motherboard. I'll be looking into that as well.
4. Question about RAM... what's the big push for 12, 16, 24gb these days? I was tempted to go for 12, but I don't know how much of a performance increase I'd see over the 8gb 1600s.
5. I was originally looking at the dual GTX570s... sounds like I should stick with my gut, haha. Should work fine with the motherboard you recommended, yeah?
6. In all honesty, I don't know a ton about power supplies, but I would like to go with Corsair. Not sure how much power the motherboard and dual gtx cards would require though. I'll have to look into that as well.
7. Nope, no overclocking here. Growing up, I was told to stay away from liquid cooling, since they'd require such configurations that would basically make replacing hardware a total nightmare. So you're saying no need for liquid cooling if I'm not looking to OC..?
8. Do you notice any significant changes in speed if you load games onto an external drive? If not, I'd gladly install to an external and go for a smaller SSD.
9. Agreed - I can't remember the last time I used the optical drive on my current computer.
10. I've got a 5.1 surround setup right now, and I love my music - gotta have some sort of sound card. ;) (not going with anything too crazy though; not doing any recording or audio editing)
11. Yep, no networking here.
12. What's your take on SteelSeries keyboards?
13. I've had so much bad luck with mouse purchases... I'm hoping to get it right this time, so any recommendations are definitely welcome. My last Logitech wireless worked great, until the scroll wheel slowed down and eventually jammed. No way to clean the damn thing either. The one after that, the sensor lag was killing me. The one after that, the right mouse button stuck. The one I'm on now is a little $15 wireless laptop mouse. Works alright, aside from the scroll wheel sending crazy signals every now and then.
14. If there's one thing I need, it's USB ports. :D But 12 total should be good. However, I saw this after looking up your Asus recommendation:

ASMedia® USB 3.0 controller :
4 x USB 3.0 port(s) (2 at back panel, blue, 2 at mid-board)
Intel® Z68 chipset :
12 x USB 2.0 port(s) (6 at back panel, black+red, 6 at mid-board)
Unless I'm misunderstanding the concept of mid-board USB, shouldn't that only be 8 "plug & play" type ports?


Thanks again for all the help - it's definitely appreciated.

[theshoupguy]

Quoting myself again since people are asking questions about what to buy... check out the guide. No need to spend 2grand on a PC.Looking over it now.. tons of awesome info.
So my (hopefully) final question -- with the parts listed above, how much extra little crap (cables, various screws, tools etc) am I going to have to buy? It's been a shamefully long time since I was in the PC building game.. no clue what most hardware comes with nowadays.

[YouMadBro]

Looking over it now.. tons of awesome info.
So my (hopefully) final question -- with the parts listed above, how much extra little crap (cables, various screws, tools etc) am I going to have to buy? It's been a shamefully long time since I was in the PC building game.. no clue what most hardware comes with nowadays.

Your motherboard and computer case usually come with all the screws and cables that you need unless you plan on adding a bunch of drives to your computer, then you would need a few extra SATA cables. The only tool you would need is a phillips screwdriver and maybe the wristband thing that discharges the static.

As mentioned above, you really don't need to build a $2000 computer. With a $800 setup, you can build a really fast computer that would be similar in performance to the $2000 setup above.

[theshoupguy]

Your motherboard and computer case usually come with all the screws and cables that you need unless you plan on adding a bunch of drives to your computer, then you would need a few extra SATA cables. The only tool you would need is a phillips screwdriver and maybe the wristband thing that discharges the static.

As mentioned above, you really don't need to build a $2000 computer. With a $800 setup, you can build a really fast computer that would be similar in performance to the $2000 setup above.Great, thanks.

Yeah, after seeing that chart above, I definitely won't be buying from iBuyPower. I'm looking through NewEgg now to get an idea of price - might just see about waiting until they have holiday deals and make it an early present to myself.

[SynapticCleft]

Looking over it now.. tons of awesome info.
So my (hopefully) final question -- with the parts listed above, how much extra little crap (cables, various screws, tools etc) am I going to have to buy? It's been a shamefully long time since I was in the PC building game.. no clue what most hardware comes with nowadays.
Cables, screws and other misc stuff to install pc components will be included in your motherboard or case.

As for tools all you need is your hands and a phillips head screwdriver. You could get a anti-static wristband, but you can cheaply discharge static by touching the metal parts of your case before you start.

Stay away from ibuypower, too much of the stuff on that list is unecessary.

[Flex3d]

Great, thanks.

Yeah, after seeing that chart above, I definitely won't be buying from iBuyPower. I'm looking through NewEgg now to get an idea of price - might just see about waiting until they have holiday deals and make it an early present to myself.

If you can wait a few months. I heard the new GPUs from AMD/ATI are coming late 2011. I seen a "leak" for them... I am quite impressed. Supposedly made 28nm. Power draw was wickedly low for the performance. It almost looked as if their new low-mid range cards are better then their current high end aha. Being 28nm = higher performance, runs cooler, less power hungry and generally cheaper.

I'm trying to find the article on it now to post for you.

Not my original source..but has the charts.

http://lenzfire.com/2011/09/amd-radeon-hd-7000-series-graphic-card-details-exposed-40795/

(ex Bandwith - 6950 - 160 gb/sec (225 watt power draw) 7950 - 230gb/sec (150 watt power draw) - 7850 - 166gb/sec (90 watt power draw)

Keeping current pricing, you could possibly get a 150$ card that is better then the current 6950.

[theshoupguy]

If you can wait a few months. I heard the new GPUs from AMD/ATI are coming late 2011. I seen a "leak" for them... I am quite impressed. Supposedly made 28nm. Power draw was wickedly low for the performance. It almost looked as if their new low-mid range cards are better then their current high end aha. Being 28nm = higher performance, runs cooler, less power hungry and generally cheaper.

I'm trying to find the article on it now to post for you.

Not my original source..but has the charts.

http://lenzfire.com/2011/09/amd-radeon-hd-7000-series-graphic-card-details-exposed-40795/

(ex Bandwith - 6950 - 160 gb/sec (225 watt power draw) 7950 - 230gb/sec (150 watt power draw) - 7850 - 166gb/sec (90 watt power draw)

Keeping current pricing, you could possibly get a 150$ card that is better then the current 6950.Wow. I'll definitely keep my eye out.
Dual 7950s instead of GTX-560 TIs... mother_of_god.jpg

[farquezy]

Well it could blow and take your motherboard, cpu, video card and everything else along with it.

I suggest you look at the label on the PSU. Find the manufacturer part number and look it up. it could be made by a decent OEM. For example, corsair and antec dont make their own PSU's, they are made by an OEM. Also find out how many +12V rails you have and the amperage to each rail. Post it here and we can tell if it is good or not.

I THINK this is the same PSU as mine since for some reason my PSU does not have the specs listed on it.
From the look of it, they look exactly the same
So what do you guys think about this psu when it comes to putting a 6950/6970 and perhaps one day crossfiring them?

http://www.cyberpowerpc.com/spec/getspec.aspx?n=POWERSUPPLY&v=800%20Watts%20-%20XtremeGear%20Gaming%20Power%20Supply%20-%20Quad%20SLI%20Ready

[LAballin24]

So I want to build a rig soon, maybe within a month or so. Are there any holidays/special events coming up (besides black friday) where I can get special deals on video cards, or any computer parts for that matter? How about coupons?

[farquezy]

So I want to build a rig soon, maybe within a month or so. Are there any holidays/special events coming up (besides black friday) where I can get special deals on video cards, or any computer parts for that matter? How about coupons?all i can say is check here daily
http://www.techbargains.com/catsearch.cfm/0_2_0

[Flex3d]

So I want to build a rig soon, maybe within a month or so. Are there any holidays/special events coming up (besides black friday) where I can get special deals on video cards, or any computer parts for that matter? How about coupons?

PC Parts are one of those kind of things that..deals just kind of pop up. Different sources have different sales all over. I know canada wise I generally check out NCIX. They have some good deals. Although I was purchasing from Canada Computers as it was local where I was posted, but since moving I will probably be shopping via NCIX/Newegg when deals it as I have no access to a local shop any more.

[illriginalized]

PC Parts are one of those kind of things that..deals just kind of pop up. Different sources have different sales all over. I know canada wise I generally check out NCIX. They have some good deals. Although I was purchasing from Canada Computers as it was local where I was posted, but since moving I will probably be shopping via NCIX/Newegg when deals it as I have no access to a local shop any more.

I've stopped going to retail stores for almost everything... obviously not for food though. But Newegg will always have great prices as well as slickdeals when some small online store has some crazy deal. Also there's buy.com if I'm not mistaken (never used them as my source for anything really) and there's also Tigerdirect but I noticed they're always a few dollars more expensive + they charge shipping on nearly everything.


Anyways, just finished buying parts for my server. Now will start working on buying parts for my next gaming rig... I don't know what to do with my current one though.. I'll probably turn it into a HTPC for my movie watching experience. It's just too much computer imo for a typical HTPC.

Here's the parts to my upcoming server:

http://i53.tinypic.com/ht68le.png

http://i54.tinypic.com/168sxfp.png
http://i51.tinypic.com/2i1fotu.png


Hopefully arrives by Monday, Tuesday the latest. I'll probably just use one of my old video cards though since the mobo doesn't come with an onboard video card.

[TouchdownRobots]

I THINK this is the same PSU as mine since for some reason my PSU does not have the specs listed on it.
From the look of it, they look exactly the same
So what do you guys think about this psu when it comes to putting a 6950/6970 and perhaps one day crossfiring them?

http://www.cyberpowerpc.com/spec/getspec.aspx?n=POWERSUPPLY&v=800%20Watts%20-%20XtremeGear%20Gaming%20Power%20Supply%20-%20Quad%20SLI%20Ready

legally it should have a UL label on it. did you take it out and check all sides?

if it is the same as the one in the link then it looks good. two 36 amp +12V rails is good

[farquezy]

legally it should have a UL label on it. did you take it out and check all sides?

if it is the same as the one in the link then it looks good. two 36 amp +12V rails is goodWell I dont want to take it out because it will void the Warranty.
But it looks EXACTLY the same.

So does that mean it can crossfire two 6970s?
Also, does this provide any information on how safe the PSU is? Will i run a big risk of killing my system?

thank you

[p7nk]

Besides newegg and amazon. what are some legit websites for buying some gear

[theshoupguy]

Besides newegg and amazon. what are some legit websites for buying some gearSlickdeals, sometimes.
Newegg is most likely going to be your best bet though.

[illriginalized]

Besides newegg and amazon. what are some legit websites for buying some gearBro.. Newegg a lot of times have some of the most retarded sales/specials.. Newegg, to me is the my primary source.. You just have to have patience.. buy things when they go on sale. Personally there has been two instances where it has taken me more than 6 months to get a solid machine built.. because I would wait on special deals from Newegg.

[James086]

So does that mean it can crossfire two 6970s?Yes, provided it can actually do what it claims.

Also, does this provide any information on how safe the PSU is? Will i run a big risk of killing my system?

thank youIt doesn't provide any info on how reliable it is, this is a bad thing as the good PSUs advertise their efficiency prominently. High efficiency is good because it saves electricity but the real reason you want a highly efficient PSU is because it requires the top quality parts in order to be efficient. So if a PSU is every efficient it's likely to have the good components that will last and the capacitors are unlikely to pop under load.

[farquezy]

Yes, provided it can actually do what it claims.
It doesn't provide any info on how reliable it is, this is a bad thing as the good PSUs advertise their efficiency prominently. High efficiency is good because it saves electricity but the real reason you want a highly efficient PSU is because it requires the top quality parts in order to be efficient. So if a PSU is every efficient it's likely to have the good components that will last and the capacitors are unlikely to pop under load.So I guess ill keep this PSU until I decide I wanted to crossfire, then get a new PSU

Thank you guys

[jamie93]

new monitor came today. dell u2711. 2560x1440. a beast

http://img829.imageshack.us/img829/6854/20111013162239.jpg

much bigger irl looks small here

[theshoupguy]

new monitor came today. dell u2711. 2560x1440. a beast

[img]http://img829.imageshack.us/img829/6854/20111013162239.jpg[ /img]

much bigger irl looks small hereNice stuff brah.

But speaking of monitors...
Any of you brahs have opinions on the TV-vs-monitor debate? Currently using a Westinghouse 37" tv as my monitor w/ DVI-to-HDMI cable, but was told getting a 27" monitor would be a better choice for my next rig.

[illriginalized]

Ice cube frog wins again.

But speaking of monitors...
Any of you brahs have opinions on the TV-vs-monitor debate? Currently using a Westinghouse 37" tv as my monitor w/ DVI-to-HDMI cable, but was told getting a 27" monitor would be a better choice for my next rig.

TV > Monitor

Have two 24" Vizios about two buy two more tomorrow.

[Manzooka]

Sup tech brahs. Here's my new water cooled rig.

Specs...

Case: Corsair 800D modded for 240 rad in lower chamber
CPU: Intel i7 2600K @ 4.5GHz atm
Mobo: ASrock Z68 Extreme 7
GPU's: 2x EVGA GTX580 Hydro Copper 2's
Mem: 16GB Corsair Vengeance DDR3 1600
PSU: Corsair AX1200
SDD: Crucial M4 256GB
HDD: 1TB WC Caviar Black

WC Single Loop
Rad 1: XSPC RX360
Rad 2: XSPC RX240
Rad Fans: 5x1800RPM 120mm Gentle Typhoons
Pump: Koolance PMP-450 paired with...
Resovoir: Koolance RP-452X2
CPU Block: HEATKILLER® CPU Rev3.0 for Socket 1155/1156
Tubing: Danger Den UV Black Primoflex Tubing
Fittings: A variety of 1/2 inch barbs... mostly bitpowers.
Fan Controler: Lamptron FC5V2

And some pics...These pics are pre-cable management around front bays for my leak test, hence the yellow cable and mess...
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/551260/Build/build021.jpg

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/551260/Build/build020.jpg

With the current glowy stuff active... I plan on replacing this junk with clear tubing, red cathodes, and red LED's for my res :D
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/551260/Build/build023.jpg

New home office pic...
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/551260/Build/build024.jpg

OCing to 4.5 was a breeze on this board. Getting to 4.8-5 will take a bit more effort I think. Still not stable on a 4.6 config. Temps have been excellent to say the least. 30 min on Furmark and my GPU's hit 45C max with the last 10 min at 44C. On the most brutal of games my temps rarely pass 37C giving me some good GPU OC potential. CPU temps at load are giving me a lot of headroom as well. I really dig these thick XSPC rads.

[illriginalized]

How much was that case?

[theshoupguy]

Sup tech brahs. Here's my new water cooled rig.

Specs...

Case: Corsair 800D modded for 240 rad in lower chamber
CPU: Intel i7 2600K @ 4.5GHz atm
Mobo: ASrock Z68 Extreme 7
GPU's: 2x EVGA GTX580 Hydro Copper 2's
Mem: 16GB Corsair Vengeance DDR3 1600
PSU: Corsair AX1200
SDD: Crucial M4 256GB
HDD: 1TB WC Caviar Black

Holy phucking ballsacks. Nice rig there brah. How much did that whole thing run ya?

[Manzooka]

How much was that case?

$279 from Newegg.com.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811139001&Tpk=800d

For me it was a toss up between the 800D and the Silverstone TJ07. Now that all is said and done I'm very very happy with the 800D. It makes cable management a breeze and there was plenty of room for a 360 and a 240 rad with a bit of simple modding. Some pics of that process... guides for this on the Corsair website. I'll probably cut a little more off now that I look at it.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/551260/Build/build002.jpg

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/551260/Build/build003.jpg

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/551260/Build/build004.jpg

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/551260/Build/build005.jpg

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/551260/Build/build001.jpg

[Manzooka]

Holy phucking ballsacks. Nice rig there brah. How much did that whole thing run ya?

Thanks brah. Cost me an arm and a leg for sure. I'm usually okay with dropping 3K on a brand new rig because I easily get my money's worth out of a build with all that I do with it, but this rig was especially painful because it was my first water cooled build and all of those WC components add up! Res, pump, rads, fittings, tubing... etc. I haven't totaled it up but it had to run me at least 3.5K... probably a little more :/

[theshoupguy]

Thanks brah. Cost me an arm and a leg for sure. I'm usually okay with dropping 3K on a brand new rig because I easily get my money's worth out of a build with all that I do with it, but this rig was especially painful because it was my first water cooled build and all of those WC components add up! Res, pump, rads, fittings, tubing... etc. I haven't totaled it up but it had to run me at least 3.5K... probably a little more :/I can imagine. That's some power for sure though. One question though - I see you're only using one monitor... what exactly is all that power going to be used for?

[TouchdownRobots]

I can imagine. That's some power for sure though. One question though - I see you're only using one monitor... what exactly is all that power going to be used for?

E-peen :)

[Manzooka]

I can imagine. That's some power for sure though. One question though - I see you're only using one monitor... what exactly is all that power going to be used for?

Sorry, forgot to mention that I plan to go for a triple monitor setup sometime in December when I have a wee bit more funds. Might even go 3D... we shall see. Oh, and yes... E-peen too.

[theshoupguy]

Sorry, forgot to mention that I plan to go for a triple monitor setup sometime in December when I have a wee bit more funds. Might even go 3D... we shall see. Oh, and yes... E-peen too.Gotcha, very nice. Just curious - still trying to figure out exactly how beastly I need to plan for my rig over the next few months. I'm not planning on doing any 3D support, but might go multi-monitor at some point. I'm just not too keen on the idea of a huge water cooling system.

[TouchdownRobots]

Gotcha, very nice. Just curious - still trying to figure out exactly how beastly I need to plan for my rig over the next few months. I'm not planning on doing any 3D support, but might go multi-monitor at some point. I'm just not too keen on the idea of a huge water cooling system.

Look into the Silverstone FT02 and RV02 cases. They are both excellent air cooled cases for multi GPU configurations. Add a quality tower CPU heatsink/fan and you're golden

[Manzooka]

still trying to figure out exactly how beastly I need to plan for my rig over the next few months.

Well, when I first planned this build I was trying to be future proof (in as much as that is possible) by going with an LGA 1155 solution. Sure, I could wait a month and get SB-E, but when Ivy Bridge comes out in March/April of 2015 I'll be able to upgrade. On top of that the ASRock Extreme 7 Gen 3 is compatible with PCI-E 3.0 when that arrives on the scene (not that I plan on replacing my 580 Hydro's anytime soon). It's also a great overclocker so it seems like a win on many counts. So yeah, there's always reason to wait but if you're itching to build you still can't go wrong with Sandy Bridge. The i7 2500K is still has more than enough headroom for anything out there.

Regarding water cooling.... as previously mentioned this is my first WC build. I will admit to being pretty frightened about the prospect of water cooling but now that it's all said and done I don't see myself building an air cooled rig any time in the near future. If you do your research, read the FAQ's and solicit feedback its really just as easy as building your first rig. And hot damn, the temp overhead and the bling factor is totally worth it!!

[James086]

Sorry, forgot to mention that I plan to go for a triple monitor setup sometime in December when I have a wee bit more funds. Might even go 3D... we shall see. Oh, and yes... E-peen too.
Triple monitor resolutions are really taxing, you can't run the AA very high but it looks awesome. It's a pretty similar setup to mine (http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=125992603&p=759897323&viewfull=1#post759897323) except yours is far more aesthetic. Bear in mind that the 580 is furmark resistant (http://www.geeks3d.com/20101109/nvidia-geforce-gtx-580-the-anti-furmark-dx11-card/) so running several loops of something like Unigine Heaven is a better test for heat. You can edit the drivers' registry values to bypass the throttle but I'd be very careful because you can blow the VRMs. I'm mirin your EVGA Hydrocoppers, I have XSPC waterblocks on mine.

[Manzooka]

Killer setup you have there, James. Is there another rad I can't see in the pic or are you cooling all of that on a single 360?

Yeah, I noticed that Furmark issue you mentioned. After 5-20 secs both GPU's throttled down significantly, but I found the fix which yielded the max temps I mentioned above, 44/45C after 30 min at 100% load, no throttling. After running Unigine Heaven (so purdy)through several cycles temps still didn't top 38C. Ambient temp are pretty cool in my office though, roughly 22C, and these GPU's are at stock for the moment.

I was a little worried that my 240 and 360 (even the thick RX series) wouldn't be enough to cool my loop with a solid CPU OC much less some GPU OCing, but things are looking pretty good.

[Domkratos]

I'm going to build a post production rig (consumer HD camcorder):
* ASUS P8Z68-V PRO
* i7 2600k stock cooler
* Kingston DDR3 1600 8GB (2 x 4GB) x 2
* Kingston SSDNow V100 64GB 2.5" x 1
* Seagate Barracuda HD SATA3 3.5" 1TB 32MB, 6GB/s (RAID 0) x 2
* Chieftec APS-850C ATC 2.3 850W
* Chieftec Aegis CX-05SL-B-OP
. Windows 7 x64
. Sony Vegas Pro
about 1k total
(later to add 1 GB GTX560 Ti DDR5 ASUS)
any comments on possible bottlenecks, hardware compatibility issues etc, please
thank you

[James086]

Killer setup you have there, James. Is there another rad I can't see in the pic or are you cooling all of that on a single 360?

Yeah, I noticed that Furmark issue you mentioned. After 5-20 secs both GPU's throttled down significantly, but I found the fix which yielded the max temps I mentioned above, 44/45C after 30 min at 100% load, no throttling. After running Unigine Heaven (so purdy)through several cycles temps still didn't top 38C. Ambient temp are pretty cool in my office though, roughly 22C, and these GPU's are at stock for the moment.

I was a little worried that my 240 and 360 (even the thick RX series) wouldn't be enough to cool my loop with a solid CPU OC much less some GPU OCing, but things are looking pretty good.
The pic there has a Coolgate 240 rad at the top (which now has 2 fans on) and on top of the case there's a HWLabs Black Ice 480 rad with 8 fans, all Yate Loons. When overclocking my gpus get to about 55 degrees, I haven't tested at stock, the cpu gets to about 68-70 at 5.0GHz (when the gpus are also at 100%), 1.43V, I use folding@home to load test the machine.

[Manzooka]

cpu gets to about 68-70 at 5.0GHz 1.43V

Nice, I bumped mine up to 4.5GHz right away and plan to shoot for 5.0 this weekend, though I still have a little more to learn about this mobo beforehand.

So are you using a three monitor setup? I'd love to know what monitors you're currently using and see some pics if you have them.

[James086]

3x AOC 2434PW (3x 1920*1080) but when I add bezel compensation the resolution is 5960*1080. Sorry about the messy desk. I can't quite run Crysis 2 with DX11 and the hi-res texture pack across all 3, it's only about 40fps, I like 60. Pretty much everything else is sweet (except Metro 2033 but that game is ridiculous).
http://i.imgur.com/8YVx3.jpg

[TouchdownRobots]

I'm going to build a post production rig (consumer HD camcorder):
* ASUS P8Z68-V PRO
* i7 2600k stock cooler
* Kingston DDR3 1600 8GB (2 x 4GB) x 2
* Kingston SSDNow V100 64GB 2.5" x 1
* Seagate Barracuda HD SATA3 3.5" 1TB 32MB, 6GB/s (RAID 0) x 2
* Chieftec APS-850C ATC 2.3 850W
* Chieftec Aegis CX-05SL-B-OP
. Windows 7 x64
. Sony Vegas Pro
about 1k total
(later to add 1 GB GTX560 Ti DDR5 ASUS)
any comments on possible bottlenecks, hardware compatibility issues etc, please
thank you

Swap out the Kingston V100 for a Crucial M4 which is much faster
Kingston makes good RAM but you could probably find cheaper kits from Corsair or G Skill
Get a quality PSU from Corsair or Seasonic

also you could probably do better on your RAID config. If disk speed is really important and you have the money, go for a larger SSD or get a hardware RAID controller with high speed SAS or SATA drives

[theshoupguy]

3x AOC 2434PW (3x 1920*1080) but when I add bezel compensation the resolution is 5960*1080. Sorry about the messy desk. I can't quite run Crysis 2 with DX11 and the hi-res texture pack across all 3, it's only about 40fps, I like 60. Pretty much everything else is sweet (except Metro 2033 but that game is ridiculous).
http://i.imgur.com/8YVx3.jpg
Wow.

http://community.o2online.ie/t5/image/serverpage/image-id/1032i4E0B9A47D8C51C43/image-size/original?v=mpbl-1&px=-1

I think this may soon turn into my favorite thread. :D

[yg7s7]

Just a question, which website is the best for keeping current of new components like graphic card?

[Manzooka]

Just a question, which website is the best for keeping current of new components like graphic card?

Tomshardware.com is one of my favs. Check out their forums section and read liberally. They have sub forums on components, sub forums for watercooling and overclocking, and sub forums for help on new rigs and rig planning, etc. Generally a
good crew over there.

[Domkratos]

Swap out the Kingston V100 for a Crucial M4 which is much faster
Kingston makes good RAM but you could probably find cheaper kits from Corsair or G Skill
Get a quality PSU from Corsair or Seasonic

also you could probably do better on your RAID config. If disk speed is really important and you have the money, go for a larger SSD or get a hardware RAID controller with high speed SAS or SATA drives

Thank you. Unfortunately, I'm on tight budget. Hence on-board RAID and low capacity SSD. And to add insult to injury here in our parts we have delivery issues ) so I can only chose from OCZ Vertex II or Silicon Power E20
BTW, Kingston V100 64GB specs are 250 MB/s read - 145 MB/s write whereas Crucial M4 64GB reads twice faster 500MB/s but writes 1.5 slower (95MB/s). what's the deal here? Never used an SSD in my life :)

[jamie93]

frogged so using different site.

this is a beast, but im allready used to the size. it feels normal now. it sucks in a way cos you dont appreciate it as much.

recently set up my old monitor to the left of it so i can do stuff on that while full screen programs are running on the dell. not sure if il keep it there looks kind of messy but i am using it.

http://oi53.tinypic.com/2kegdi.jpg

http://oi52.tinypic.com/301o8k9.jpg

dual monitors for running stuff like itunes when i am using full screen programs so i dont have to switch

http://oi55.tinypic.com/14ucc2x.jpg

http://oi52.tinypic.com/16lbwph.jpg

[TouchdownRobots]

Thank you. Unfortunately, I'm on tight budget. Hence on-board RAID and low capacity SSD. And to add insult to injury here in our parts we have delivery issues ) so I can only chose from OCZ Vertex II or Silicon Power E20
BTW, Kingston V100 64GB specs are 250 MB/s read - 145 MB/s write whereas Crucial M4 64GB reads twice faster 500MB/s but writes 1.5 slower (95MB/s). what's the deal here? Never used an SSD in my life :)

read speed is much important than write speed on an SSD. Especially if it is a small one used for your OS and programs. You'll be writing most of your data to your hard drives.

[TouchdownRobots]

Just a question, which website is the best for keeping current of new components like graphic card?


Tomshardware.com is one of my favs. Check out their forums section and read liberally. They have sub forums on components, sub forums for watercooling and overclocking, and sub forums for help on new rigs and rig planning, etc. Generally a
good crew over there.

I used to post at Tom's but their forum layout is awful and searching is impossible. I switched to overclock.net and the forum is the same as bb.com plus there are way more active users.

[lostskittles]

hey bros

think i can max swtor with is rig?

CPU - Intel i5-2500k
PSU - 750w Corsair something lol
GPU - AMD Radeon 6950 2 GB
Mobo - [SLI] Gigabyte GA-Z68A-D3H-B3
HD - 500 gb

what do you guys think?

[TouchdownRobots]

hey bros

think i can max swtor with is rig?

CPU - Intel i5-2500k
PSU - 750w Corsair something lol
GPU - AMD Radeon 6950 2 GB
Mobo - [SLI] Gigabyte GA-Z68A-D3H-B3
HD - 500 gb

what do you guys think?

most likely yes. this is a MMO and they generally have low system requirements.


What are the system requirements for the game?

Processor:

AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual-Core 4000+ or better
Intel Core 2 Duo 2.0GHz or better
Operating System:
Windows XP or later

RAM:

Windows XP: 1.5GB RAM
Windows Vista and Windows 7: 2GB RAM

Note: PCs using a built-in graphical chipset are recommended to have 2GB of RAM.

Star Wars: The Old Republic requires a video card that has a minimum of 256MB of on-board RAM as well as support for Shader 3.0 or better. Examples include:

ATI X1800 or better
nVidia 7800 or better
Intel 4100 Integrated Graphics or better

DVD-ROM drive – 8x speed or better (required for installation from physical editions only) Internet connection required to play.

[jamie93]

hey bros

think i can max swtor with is rig?

CPU - Intel i5-2500k
PSU - 750w Corsair something lol
GPU - AMD Radeon 6950 2 GB
Mobo - [SLI] Gigabyte GA-Z68A-D3H-B3
HD - 500 gb

what do you guys think?

you could max most games with that

[EatingPancakes]

Could anyone recommend a good heatsink for an i7-990x? It's going onto an EVGA X58 FTW3, I'd just like to be able to have access to all my RAM while being able to keep the thing cool.

[jamie93]

Could anyone recommend a good heatsink for an i7-990x? It's going onto an EVGA X58 FTW3, I'd just like to be able to have access to all my RAM while being able to keep the thing cool.

the nh-d14 from noctua is the best air cooler out, and is also pretty good clearance. id look into that. on their website they have an area which lists compatibility with mobos and ram, check if yours is compatible

[chevy72blu]

Thinking about buying this guys computer. He built it a few months ago and needs cash ASAP

Antec Nine Hundred
Asus Maximus III Republic of Gamers Motherboard
Intel I7 2.8ghx 6 core
4gb DDR3-1600 RAM
GeForce GTX 285 1gb video card
2 x 64gb Crucial SSD drives in RAID 0
750W Corsair power supply
Loaded with Win7 Home


Asking $600 but I can probably get it for less. I was gonna build my own, but would this be a better deal? I just want to run BF3 on high-ish settings

[Manzooka]

Thinking about buying this guys computer.

Not a bad deal, brah. The GTX 285 is still a pretty decent card. I have two of them in my #2 rig and I only built a new rig because I'm a tech-junkie and needed a fix. Also can't complain about the 2 SSD's, and to the best of my knowledge this rig meets the "recommended" requirements for BF3.

That being said I would ALWAYS prefer to build my own rig. If you haven't built one before I'd suggest you consider passing up this deal and putting your own rig together because ultimately you'll be better served. That's my 2 cents anyway, but I know this is all budget dependent.

[jamie93]

Thinking about buying this guys computer. He built it a few months ago and needs cash ASAP

Antec Nine Hundred
Asus Maximus III Republic of Gamers Motherboard
Intel I7 2.8ghx 6 core
4gb DDR3-1600 RAM
GeForce GTX 285 1gb video card
2 x 64gb Crucial SSD drives in RAID 0
750W Corsair power supply
Loaded with Win7 Home


Asking $600 but I can probably get it for less. I was gonna build my own, but would this be a better deal? I just want to run BF3 on high-ish settings

for that price looks like a fair deal id go for it

[theshoupguy]

Thinking about buying this guys computer. He built it a few months ago and needs cash ASAP

Antec Nine Hundred
Asus Maximus III Republic of Gamers Motherboard
Intel I7 2.8ghx 6 core
4gb DDR3-1600 RAM
GeForce GTX 285 1gb video card
2 x 64gb Crucial SSD drives in RAID 0
750W Corsair power supply
Loaded with Win7 Home


Asking $600 but I can probably get it for less. I was gonna build my own, but would this be a better deal? I just want to run BF3 on high-ish settingsPretty awesome price for a 6-core processor w/ two SSDs... might want to make an upgrade on that GeForce and RAM though.

[Azzurri]

Finally came around and re installed windows 7, now it's running like butter. I installed a new MOBO this past june because my old one was recalled, and when I did that for some reason my pc would freeze up pretty normally. So I finally decided to do a fresh install of windows.

Also thinking about selling my 580 OC for a 590.

[BobbyLite]

6990 > 590 ;) just sayin, GTX-680 within the next 2 months

[Azzurri]

6990 > 590 ;) just sayin, GTX-680 within the next 2 months

Then I'll wait and see.

[James086]

You can't overvolt either of the dual gpu cards at the moment. The 6990 is hardware locked so that you can't overvolt (I even tried flashing a new BIOS to unlock it but the hardware wouldn't have it). The GTX590 allows overvolting, but the VRMs are known to be fragile on that card so it's not recommended. If you plan on keeping stock clocks or just a small overclock then they are fine.

[cleo26]

kind of thinking whether to upgrade soon
cpu: intel e8400
mb asus p5q
hd: wd 500gb
video card: 9800gt

i was leaning towards something like an amd 1100t with a m5a99x evo with a 6870 or a 460gtx and running a 2nd hard drive for a slave setup with onboard sound and running windows 7 and case is a antec 900

[LAballin24]

So I'm looking to buy a evga gtx 560ti and on the newegg page they have like 10 different versions. What are the differences between the ones that cost like 240 and 260?

[SmokeyBearTX]

So I'm looking to buy a evga gtx 560ti and on the newegg page they have like 10 different versions. What are the differences between the ones that cost like 240 and 260?

Some are factory "superclocked", or they have 2gb of memory

[Xinroth]

Mind=Blown. Never thought people really spent money on 2-3-4 monitors, highest end PC AND 2x of the best, highest end VGA just to game and watch movies in 2-3 screens at the same time.

I guess I'm too easy to please: Got this last year and its my best PC yet:

-Intel Core2quad Q8300 2.5Ghz
-4Gb Memory DDR3
-540GB SATA HDD
-ATI Radeon 4660.

Here's the catch; 220 Power supply. But it runs Old-2008 games at high, and modern games at medium, CS:Source at 100-250fps, Black Ops at 50-80fps on med settings. Aintevenmad. Got it for 399$ i believe, yes it was already built.


Hopefully building my own PC in 2-3 years when mine severely under performs, I'm reluctant to spent unnecessary money for a new rig now. But I have to say this thread is great just to get in and mire some other people's setups.. :o

[shanedawg]

http://i56.tinypic.com/2elrvgx.jpg
http://i55.tinypic.com/a0i62o.jpg
http://i54.tinypic.com/aakqe1.jpg

[theshoupguy]

Just saw the ad for AMD's 8-core processor on Newegg.... lolwut? Any of you brahs heard good/bad about this thing?

[TouchdownRobots]

Just saw the ad for AMD's 8-core processor on Newegg.... lolwut? Any of you brahs heard good/bad about this thing?

It's a whole new architecture that they designed primarily for servers running VMware and highly threaded applications. Unfortunately that doesnt translate very well to desktop computers where most applications are lightly threaded. It actually loses to Phenom II's in some things. Really it should only be considered if you do a lot of rendering or encoding. for a gaming PC there are better options out there.

That being said, I have a FX-6100 in my gaming PC and it seems good so far. Runs at 4.6GHz no problem and I could probably hit 5GHz if I wanted to.

[Mulloway69]

Lol same processor as OP >_< Except his must b watercooled



Antec 900 Case + 2 extra Antec case fans
Asus P5N-D
Q6600 (lapped) with Tuniq Tower Extreme @ 3.23GHz
8G DDR2 800
Corsair 950w PS
Evga GTX480 Superclocked
Cant remember Hdd but is just a regular 1.5TB iirc maybe Seagate?
Monitor:50" 1920x1080p plasma (I do have a 22" floating around somewhere)

+ wireless 360 remote = Profit


Old rig for me now latest additions were GPU and PS and that was over 12 months ago, should still get another year or 2 out of it havent OC'ed GPU yet and can still upgrade to SLI, more ram and SSD. Should be able to pull max settings on Skyrim @1080p as is nothing lags on it now so I figure it will.


Laptop: (better of 2)
Model: Asus G73jh
CPU: i7 Q740
RAM: 14G DDR3
GPU: HD 5870
HDD: 600G something :P
Monitor: 17.5" 1920x1080p

^ Gaming specced laptop and haven't even played a game on it :P Don't rate laptops for games.

[illriginalized]

Anyone know of any unofficial gadgets for Windows 7? Looks like Micro-shhhh isn't even supporting the Gadgets anymore.

[BXTT]

Just saw the ad for AMD's 8-core processor on Newegg.... lolwut? Any of you brahs heard good/bad about this thing?

its complete trash. 100% srs. give them couple years and see what they can do with the new architecture

[bov188]

Hey guys, i've been in and out of this thread for the past couple of weeks asking questions and getting good feedback... so to those that have responded thanks a lot

a couple more questions...

1) how do i know what motherboard fits in what cases?

also,

2) Do a lot of you guys pirate your operating systems? or do you actually buy them?

[SynapticCleft]

Hey guys, i've been in and out of this thread for the past couple of weeks asking questions and getting good feedback... so to those that have responded thanks a lot

a couple more questions...

1) how do i know what motherboard fits in what cases?

also,

2) Do a lot of you guys pirate your operating systems? or do you actually buy them?1. Check your mobo's specs. It should say either ATX or MATX. Most cases will fit ATX and MATX.

2. I bought my OS once with a student discount, however when I build new rigs I use the discs to install the OS and a crack to authenticate the OS.

[bov188]

1. Check your mobo's specs. It should say either ATX or MATX. Most cases will fit ATX and MATX.

2. I bought my OS once with a student discount, however when I build new rigs I use the discs to install the OS and a crack to authenticate the OS.

I assume the cracks are easy to come by?

and yea i see a lot of mobo's are ATX or mini ATX... is smaller typically worse?

[TouchdownRobots]

I assume the cracks are easy to come by?

and yea i see a lot of mobo's are ATX or mini ATX... is smaller typically worse?

full ATX boards typically overclock better and have more PCIE x16 slots for SLI and Crossfire

[Midwakh]

kind of a newbie question here... my old laptop broke so i got my dads Toshiba Portege R705 which is a nice computer and runs fine however the graphics card is awful... so im wondering if there is anyway to upgrade graphic card or do I just need to buy a new laptop?

[BobbyLite]

no way to upgraded that laptop, are you trying to game on it or something?

[Midwakh]

yea ive looked into buying some games and the laptop meets the requirements for everything except graphics card... and i dont feel like playing games with all the settings turned down

[shanedawg]

Laptops usually have integrated graphics i believe... Which means you cant upgrade.

[SynapticCleft]

I assume the cracks are easy to come by?

and yea i see a lot of mobo's are ATX or mini ATX... is smaller typically worse?Yes, just go and google windows loader.

[reyes12]

so I'm browsing newegg for harddrives and theres nooothing in the 500gb department for less then 70 bucks anymore. where'd all the HDD's go?

[TouchdownRobots]

so I'm browsing newegg for harddrives and theres nooothing in the 500gb department for less then 70 bucks anymore. where'd all the HDD's go?

big flood in southeast asia that wiped out most of the hard drive manufacturers. retailers are raising prices in anticipation of a supply shortage

[reyes12]

big flood in southeast asia that wiped out most of the hard drive manufacturers. retailers are raising prices in anticipation of a supply shortage

Aw shiet, that sucks! Well damn, looks like I have to wait even longer to buy a harddrive. Oh well.

Thanks for awaring me.

[theshoupguy]

Soon...

http://promotions.newegg.com/neemail/nov-0-2011/BNsale01/index-landing.html?nm_mc=EMC-IGNEFL110111&cm_mmc=EMC-IGNEFL110111-_-EMC-110111-Index-_-E0-_-PromoWord

http://www.ragemaker.net/images/Pleasure/me%20gusta%20mucho%20creepy.png

[xacimo]

I assume the cracks are easy to come by?

and yea i see a lot of mobo's are ATX or mini ATX... is smaller typically worse?

You're better off with full ATX. I bought mini ATX because I loved a small case, then realised my video card blocked the sata slots.

[vietcong666]

Ohhhh yeah just hit the jackpot today. Got 2 Sapphire 6970s from Amazon today for 416, but they also have 30 dollar rebates so my total will only be 356 USDs.

http://i1001.photobucket.com/albums/af137/vietcong666/computer/sapphire6970.png

[TouchdownRobots]

Ohhhh yeah just hit the jackpot today. Got 2 Sapphire 6970s from Amazon today for 416, but they also have 30 dollar rebates so my total will only be 356 USDs.

http://i1001.photobucket.com/albums/af137/vietcong666/computer/sapphire6970.png

seems to good to be true. link?

[vietcong666]

seems to good to be true. link?

I ordered two HIS Radeon 6970s from this deal over a week ago, but it was out of stock when I placed my order:

http://slickdeals.net/permadeal/60848

I called Amazon and told them I was dissapointed in them taking so long to give me an estimated ship date. I asked them to just give me the Sapphire 6970s for the same price. Spent about an hour talking with a manager before she finally agreed to do it. She also gave me a $30 discount on my order for being on the phone for so long.

[ScottNoFlow]

overclock.net and the forum is the same as bb.com plus there are way more active users.

My fav PC related forum - so much knowledge available across so many subjects

[TouchdownRobots]

I ordered two HIS Radeon 6970s from this deal over a week ago, but it was out of stock when I placed my order:

http://slickdeals.net/permadeal/60848

I called Amazon and told them I was dissapointed in them taking so long to give me an estimated ship date. I asked them to just give me the Sapphire 6970s for the same price. Spent about an hour talking with a manager before she finally agreed to do it. She also gave me a $30 discount on my order for being on the phone for so long.

damn i need to go on slickdeals more often. i payed $280 for my HIS 6950 IceQ turbo :(

[king4x4]

3x AOC 2434PW (3x 1920*1080) but when I add bezel compensation the resolution is 5960*1080. Sorry about the messy desk. I can't quite run Crysis 2 with DX11 and the hi-res texture pack across all 3, it's only about 40fps, I like 60. Pretty much everything else is sweet (except Metro 2033 but that game is ridiculous).
http://i.imgur.com/8YVx3.jpg

I raise you this baby:
http://i42.tinypic.com/28gruk2.jpg

Specs:
Asus Rampage III
i7 970@4.2Ghz
Noctua D14 Cpu Cooler
Corsair 3x2GB
2x Sapphire 6970 2GB Crossfire
3xSamsung 23in LCDs
1xLG 42in

Been playing BF2 (Awaiting for BF3 on Steam.. hell no I ain't gonna install origin on my PC) in all of eyefinity glory and the only game that won't run is ****ty metro 2033.

[MiKey4]

Just finished upgrade. Core i7-950 OC to 4.01GHz, 12GB 1600 MHz Corsair Vengance RAM, Asus GTX 570.

Next upgrade: 64GB Crucial M4 SSD to compliment my pair of Raid 0 HDDs, December, then perhaps a new motherboard and CPU for ivy bridge


Believe it or not I actually need 12Gb for work.

[.:Chris:.]

Can you guys help me figure out which hardware is failing on my rig?

Symptoms:
Would run for about 30 minutes then would turn off...turn on then off on then off.

Its not over heating because I went into Bios and watched the CPU tempt and it is not over heating. The settings is also set to warn me if its over heating.

GPU: I doubt it since the screen isnt all glitchy or different colors when it does work.
CPU: ???, no BSOD though so I dont know
PSU: Possibility..I bought a PSU tester but it seemed fine..I still dont trust the tester though
MB: Strong Possibility
HD: Everything seems fine, no BSOD..I'm able to access all my files when I'm able to have it stay on

I notice that if I turn if off for awhile then turn it back on, It can stay on longer than a few seconds. Any help? I'm suspecting the motherboard.

[everblue]

I ordered two HIS Radeon 6970s from this deal over a week ago, but it was out of stock when I placed my order:

http://slickdeals.net/permadeal/60848

I called Amazon and told them I was dissapointed in them taking so long to give me an estimated ship date. I asked them to just give me the Sapphire 6970s for the same price. Spent about an hour talking with a manager before she finally agreed to do it. She also gave me a $30 discount on my order for being on the phone for so long.

*edit*
just got done chatting with one of their reps on the live chat thing and all they gave me was $25 worth of promotional credit **** (that's including the $10 gift card that they sent everyone)

Oh well, can't complain i suppose

[remote-control]

I'm selling my PC brahs if anyones interested. PM me and I'll send the ebay link. Only built it not long ago. Selling because I don't use it anymore and I need a laptop for work!

Included:

Computer built as:
Processor: Intel Core i7-930 Bloomfield 2.8GHz LGA 1366 130W Quad-Core
Aftermarket processor cooler (for overclocking): Noctua NH-D14 120mm & 140mm SSO CPU Cooler
Computer Case: Cooler Master Black Steel/ Plastic ATX Full Tower
Motherboard: ASUS Rampage III Formula LGA 1366 Intel X58 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel
Video cards: 2 in SLI mode - EVGA 01G-P3-1372-TR GeForce GTX 460 (Fermi) Superclocked 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16
Power Supply: CORSAIR Professional Series HX850 (CMPSU-850HX) 850W ATX12V
Ram: CORSAIR DOMINATOR 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Triple Channel Kit
Hard drive: Intel X25-M Mainstream SSDSA2MH080G2R5 2.5" 80GB SATA II MLC Internal Solid State Drive
Harddrive 2: 500GB Sata for programs and such


Monitor: ASUS VW246H Glossy Black 24" 2ms(GTG) HDMI Widescreen LCD Monitor

Keyboard: Logitech G5 + $90 gaming mouse!

AND a Logitech z-5500 5.1 Surround Sound THX System. 500 Watts

[snapple13]

any good sites for gaming rig set ups?
got 2500 to spend ( no monitor, mouse, keyboard)
will rep , thanks

[SynapticCleft]

any good sites for gaming rig set ups?
got 2500 to spend ( no monitor, mouse, keyboard)
will rep , thanksWith your budget just go and get yourself an Alienware comp.

Are you any good with putting legos together? If you are why not build your own rig?

[James086]

I raise you this baby:
http://i42.tinypic.com/28gruk2.jpg

Specs:
Asus Rampage III
i7 970@4.2Ghz
Noctua D14 Cpu Cooler
Corsair 3x2GB
2x Sapphire 6970 2GB Crossfire
3xSamsung 23in LCDs
1xLG 42in

Been playing BF2 (Awaiting for BF3 on Steam.. hell no I ain't gonna install origin on my PC) in all of eyefinity glory and the only game that won't run is ****ty metro 2033.

Mirin CPU, I'm going to upgrade to socket 2011 once the d0 stepping is available, only 4 cores is slowing me down (folding@home).

[everblue]

any good sites for gaming rig set ups?
got 2500 to spend ( no monitor, mouse, keyboard)
will rep , thanks

http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=139165933&pagenumber=

Take the extra grand and buy another video card and some hookers

[Boatski]

Anyone rocking triple monitors with thin bezels?

[Huse]

what's up guys, been thinking about buying a computer for awhile and with all the great games that just came out (skyrim, cod, bf3) and are coming out (d3 fap fap) I've decided to make one. would like it to be a solid computer for a few years.. pretty much copied the falcon guide but wasn't sure if there's any common knowledge that i may have missed out on since it had been made. thanks for the input

http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b282/Huser/compbuild.jpg


only things im gonna buy that aren't pictured is win7 and a warranty for the mobo

[3000RT]

right when I was about to start slowly buying parts for a Christmas comp flooding in Thailand makes getting a 2TB hdd 260 bucks. *prays Black Friday has deals for harddrives*

[theshoupguy]

Oh shiat. Just got an email from newegg announcing the release of the i7-3960X and i7-3930K six-core processors. Come onnnnnnn price drop for all the other processors...

http://promotions.newegg.com/NEemail/Guerrilla/banners/111411/BANNER_01.jpg
http://promotions.newegg.com/NEemail/Guerrilla/banners/111411/BANNER_02.jpghttp://promotions.newegg.com/NEemail/Guerrilla/banners/111411/BANNER_03.jpg

[farquezy]

HELP MISC FOR REPS!


So I just overclocked my I7 920 to 3.36ghz .
Been running prime 95 for about 15 minutes and the temps been maxed out on average amongst the 4 cores using core temp around 75-82.
Anyways, I am using the normal fan that comes with the CPU.

I now the cpu can handle up to 100C, but im not comfortable allowing it to go over 80.

I didnt see any option to control Fan speed in the bios of my p6t se, anyone know how i can increase fan speed?

Also, when im doing nothing, the CPU runs at 3.36ghz also according to CPU z instead of dropping to 1.6 or whatever, why is that?

[leadnsteel]

HELP MISC FOR REPS!


So I just overclocked my I7 920 to 3.36ghz .
Been running prime 95 for about 15 minutes and the temps been maxed out on average amongst the 4 cores using core temp around 75-82.
Anyways, I am using the normal fan that comes with the CPU.

I now the cpu can handle up to 100C, but im not comfortable allowing it to go over 80.

I didnt see any option to control Fan speed in the bios of my p6t se, anyone know how i can increase fan speed?

Also, when im doing nothing, the CPU runs at 3.36ghz also according to CPU z instead of dropping to 1.6 or whatever, why is that?

I would not overclock it too much without an aftermarket cpu cooler because the stock fans are crap, you can buy a cpu cooler for like 60.00. If you must keep the stock fan maybe a program called speedfan would help(google it).

Also I wouldn't even go any higher than 70 c when overclocking. I think most intel cpu's are max 85 c.

For the second question about the speed not going down, if you check your main bios it could make sure these are enabled if you want your speed to go down when your ilding: C1E or EIST. Also in windows control panel there is something called power scheme and you can check that too see if it's controlling your cpu speed.

[BakedFresh]

Super old pc D:
I need a new one any suggestions...

[Azzurri]

So even after re installing Windows 7, and changing Ram, I still get that annoying freeze up while browsing with chrome "waiting on Cache" .

[3000RT]

So even after re installing Windows 7, and changing Ram, I still get that annoying freeze up while browsing with chrome "waiting on Cache" .

http://kelvyntaylor.blogspot.com/2010/11/how-to-disable-google-chromes-cache.html

the dude later says he replaced his SATA cable and it also helped

[Nara62629]

hey guys, finally got my new build up and running. not a big gamer, i PS a lot as well as CAD, Revit, CS5, etc. lmk what you think.

OS: Win7 64
CPU: 2600k
Mobo: p8z68 deluxe
PSU: Antec Earthwatts 650w
Ram: 16gb Corsair Vengeance 1600
GPU: GTX460 1gb
Main HDD: 1tb Seagate Sata3
SSD cache: Adata 40gb Sata2
Data HDDs: 2tb Seagate Sata3, 1tb WD Black Sata2
Cooler: Corsair H60
Case: CoolerMaster HAF912, i added a 200mm Megaflow to the front.
AverMedia HD Dual Tuner, i will probably get a Haupage so i can get analog as well as QAM

[Huse]

Just built a new computer but it shuts down after about 15-30 seconds. Any ideas why this is happening? Bought all new parts so it's tough to troubleshoot what might be the problem. The system will boot up and begin to install windows (if CD is in) or wait for boot CD but it will just shut down after a few seconds. I didn't put any of the thermal compound on the CPU, could this be the root cause? REPS for ideas I'm so excited for this thing to be up and running haha

[Nara62629]

did the heatsink come with thermal compound? mobo, cpu, stock HS/F?? any error codes? beeps? more info would help...

[reyes12]

got my new comp case finally (adding the fans from my old case, cleaned them and adding them)
NZXT Source 210, got it for 31 bucks. Came in 3 days. I love newegg. Had a 20% off thing going on for this case.


http://i.imgur.com/Pme4W.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/KBtoO.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/s2aJy.jpg


So excited to finally be able to have cable management. When I upgrade my Mobo, Ram and heatsink I will finally put together my PC in this new case. Fuk yeah!

[theshoupguy]

Alright fellas, I finally decided on specs for the next rig, and have about half the pieces.

Decided to go with:

CPU: i5-2500k, planning on overclocking
MOBO: ASUS P8Z68-V PRO
VIDEO: dual GTX-560 Tis
RAM: 16gb (4x4)
PSU: PCP&C 750W
128gb SSD with a 1TB internal HD
Antec 1200 full-tower case
CORSAIR H80 (CWCH80) High Performance Liquid CPU Cooler
Logitech G400 mouse & Razer Black Widow Ultimate keyboard
Windows 7 Pro, 64-bit
Westinghouse 40" LED TV

Still have to get the CPU and MOBO - should have it by the end of the month, and have the whole thing up and running by the first week in December. Will get pics up once she's functional. :D

[TouchdownRobots]

Alright fellas, I finally decided on specs for the next rig, and have about half the pieces.

Decided to go with:

CPU: i5-2500k, planning on overclocking
MOBO: ASUS P8Z68-V PRO
VIDEO: dual GTX-560 Tis
RAM: 16gb (4x4)
PSU: PCP&C 750W
128gb SSD with a 1TB internal HD
Antec 1200 full-tower case
CORSAIR H80 (CWCH80) High Performance Liquid CPU Cooler
Logitech G400 mouse & Razer Black Widow Ultimate keyboard
Windows 7 Pro, 64-bit
Westinghouse 40" LED TV

Still have to get the CPU and MOBO - should have it by the end of the month, and have the whole thing up and running by the first week in December. Will get pics up once she's functional. :D

Did you already get the video cards? I think you'd be happier with one GTX580 than SLI 560TI's

Also the Antec 1200 used to be a good case but now there are much better options out there.

[theshoupguy]

Did you already get the video cards? I think you'd be happier with one GTX580 than SLI 560TI's

Also the Antec 1200 used to be a good case but now there are much better options out there.I was thinking about the 580, but I read from a couple sources that the dual 560 Tis perform a fair amount better.

edit# Only one I could remember looking at when I was researching them:
http://www.tomshardware.com/charts/2011-gaming-graphics-charts/Gamer-Index,2673.html

[reyes12]

Gon list my upgrades I will be purchasing in about a month.

ASRock 970 EXTREME3 AM3+ mobo
8gb DDR3 G.Skill Sniper
Enermax ETS-T40 VEGAS DUO CPU cooler

[TouchdownRobots]

I was thinking about the 580, but I read from a couple sources that the dual 560 Tis perform a fair amount better.

edit# Only one I could remember looking at when I was researching them:
http://www.tomshardware.com/charts/2011-gaming-graphics-charts/Gamer-Index,2673.html

yes they are faster if the game scales well for multiple videocards. Its not worth the trouble of dealing with driver issues of an SLI,Crossfire set up when you can get a fast single card that performs almost as fast.

[Azzurri]

yes they are faster if the game scales well for multiple videocards. Its not worth the trouble of dealing with driver issues of an SLI,Crossfire set up when you can get a fast single card that performs almost as fast.

That's why I like Single GPU cards, no scaling issues in any game. I could of went with two 560's, but opted for one 580 SC.

[theshoupguy]

yes they are faster if the game scales well for multiple videocards. Its not worth the trouble of dealing with driver issues of an SLI,Crossfire set up when you can get a fast single card that performs almost as fast.


That's why I like Single GPU cards, no scaling issues in any game. I could of went with two 560's, but opted for one 580 SC.How common of an occurrence is it for games to have problems scaling for SLI?

Since I'm not 100% familiar with all the pros/cons of having one beast card vs two less powerful cards, could someone explain where this article is wrong?
http://www.guru3d.com/article/geforce-gtx-560-ti-sli-review/

To answer the previous question -- nope, I haven't bought the graphics cards yet either. I figured I'd hold out for those, the CPU and mobo until the end of the month, so I can try to snag some Black November/Friday deals and save a little $$$ like I did with the 40" LED tv.



edit# Also, what's the deal with the GTX 480? Seems like it does a lot better on benchmarks than some of the 500 series cards.

[Azylus]

edit# Also, what's the deal with the GTX 480? Seems like it does a lot better on benchmarks than some of the 500 series cards.

that sounds normal, the gtx 480 is the last gen equivalent of the 580 so it will do better than any card 570 and below. the problem with the 400 series was they got super ****ing hot, which i personally didn't experience having the gtx470 myself. could probably attribute it to people having ****ty cable management/cases


How common of an occurrence is it for games to have problems scaling for SLI?

not common at all? there might be a few exceptions in games that have problems with SLI or crossfire but they're the most obscure games you could play, or just really old games.


Since I'm not 100% familiar with all the pros/cons of having one beast card vs two less powerful cards, could someone explain where this article is wrong?
http://www.guru3d.com/article/geforce-gtx-560-ti-sli-review/

i don't see any problem with the article?
two cards consume more power and make a bit more noise but give you better bang for your buck. if your budget was $500 for gpus, the best way you could use it is if you buy 2 560 ti's but if your budget was $1000, you could get two 580s, which will give you some serious power, yeah?

[theshoupguy]

Next question - having a hard time finding any decent answers on google, so here goes.

I'm rethinking the internal HD idea. I saw a Western Digital 2TB 7200rpm external w/ eSATA for about $185 (with cable), whereas most 2TB 7200rpm internal HDs I'm seeing are $250+. I'm thinking it would be mostly for storage... music, movies, and Steam+games. Only question is, how much of a performance difference would I see running games off an external HD (through eSATA) compared to using an internal?

[TouchdownRobots]

Next question - having a hard time finding any decent answers on google, so here goes.

I'm rethinking the internal HD idea. I saw a Western Digital 2TB 7200rpm external w/ eSATA for about $185 (with cable), whereas most 2TB 7200rpm internal HDs I'm seeing are $250+. I'm thinking it would be mostly for storage... music, movies, and Steam+games. Only question is, how much of a performance difference would I see running games off an external HD (through eSATA) compared to using an internal?

eSATA is exactly the same speed as SATA. you could actually open the case on the external hard drive and inside will be a normal internal SATA drive.

[theshoupguy]

eSATA is exactly the same speed as SATA. you could actually open the case on the external hard drive and inside will be a normal internal SATA drive.That's what I thought originally, but I figured something would explain the drastic price differences, especially when externals are essentially an internal with casing and some extra ports/converters. :confused:

[Azylus]

That's what I thought originally, but I figured something would explain the drastic price differences, especially when externals are essentially an internal with casing and some extra ports/converters. :confused:

prices for harddrives right now are all over the place because of the flooding of factories in thailand/taiwan. they're almost nearly double their usual price.

besides that, external harddrives have lower RPM, 5400 usually simply because they're probably being used as storage drives. they might be cheaper than an internal drive of the same capacity that runs at 7200.

some brands might be cheaper as an external drive vs another OEM brand's internal drives or vice versa.

there's a few different factors that explain the price differences, just gotta look closely. either way it's not really the best time to be buying HDDs right now, unless absolutely necessary, lol.

[reyes12]

prices for harddrives right now are all over the place because of the flooding of factories in thailand/taiwan. they're almost nearly double their usual price.

besides that, external harddrives have lower RPM, 5400 usually simply because they're probably being used as storage drives. they might be cheaper than an internal drive of the same capacity that runs at 7200.

some brands might be cheaper as an external drive vs another OEM brand's internal drives or vice versa.

there's a few different factors that explain the price differences, just gotta look closely. either way it's not really the best time to be buying HDDs right now, unless absolutely necessary, lol.

I cant get by with a 250gb HDD I have. Fuark this would happen, I was gon get me an extra 500gb for like 45 bucks. I dont wanna dish out 115 bucks for 500 gigs. Guess I will wait.

[Strongavi]

brahs i dont know **** about computers, i want to buy one mainly for gaming but i will use it for design too, the programas i use are solidworks autocad and catia

i have a 1300 budget, already have monitor mouse keyboard speakers, for now i wont buy a hdd i dont know why but they are ****ing expensive

note that i live in mexico so everything must be from amazon



i tried everblue rig

Motherboard: MSI GD65 G3 - $170 AR http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813130611
CPU: i5 2500k - $170.00 (Microcenter's 1 weekend sale)
RAM: Corsair Vengeance 16GB DDR3 1600mhz - $84.99
PSU: Seasonic X750 modular - $129.99
HDD: Seagate 7200rpm 1TB - $69.99
SSD: Corsair GT 120GB $160.00 (After Rebate and 5% Discover Cash Back)
Case: Cooler Master HAF X - $169.99
CPU Cooler: Corsair H60 - $64.99
Video Card: Visiontek 6950 2GB unlocked and OC'd to 6970 speeds - $232.74 (After 5% Discover Cash Back)
Keyboard/Mouse: Logitech MX 5500 - $100.00 (After Rebate)
Monitor: Currently have a 27" Acer but the guy at Microcenter told me it is a glossy screen when it's actually a matte screen....phaggots. Not going to include this in cost until I have found a monitor that I am happy with.


http://i.imgur.com/B4Mw9.png

the only problem is that the videocard and motherboard cant be shipped otside usa, do you have any other recomendation for similar videocard and motherboard

[djshortsleeve]

Reps to anyone who can beat my setup.

My 2500k @ 4.5 low voltage, 8GB corsair vengeance, and Corsair SSD beats your system.

On the other hand, I only have a 24" monitor and 2.1 speakers.

[djshortsleeve]

Oh shiat. Just got an email from newegg announcing the release of the i7-3960X and i7-3930K six-core processors. Come onnnnnnn price drop for all the other processors...

http://promotions.newegg.com/NEemail/Guerrilla/banners/111411/BANNER_01.jpg
http://promotions.newegg.com/NEemail/Guerrilla/banners/111411/BANNER_02.jpghttp://promotions.newegg.com/NEemail/Guerrilla/banners/111411/BANNER_03.jpg

Price drop? That not how the CPU market works. Things will get priced based on lots of factors, like next year of CPU releases etc. Look at pricing for 1st gen Core processors. The 980x/990x are still priced the same even though Sandy Bridge was released, and even Sandy Bridge-E (enthusiast). The 3930k will outperform 990x by 10-15% and it is priced at 599 versus 1000.

[Nara62629]

Motherboard: MSI GD65 G3 - $170 AR http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813130611
CPU: i5 2500k - $170.00 (Microcenter's 1 weekend sale)
RAM: Corsair Vengeance 16GB DDR3 1600mhz - $84.99
PSU: Seasonic X750 modular - $129.99
HDD: Seagate 7200rpm 1TB - $69.99
SSD: Corsair GT 120GB $160.00 (After Rebate and 5% Discover Cash Back)
Case: Cooler Master HAF X - $169.99
CPU Cooler: Corsair H60 - $64.99
Video Card: Visiontek 6950 2GB unlocked and OC'd to 6970 speeds - $232.74 (After 5% Discover Cash Back)
Keyboard/Mouse: Logitech MX 5500 - $100.00 (After Rebate)


might be worth it to wait for SBe, should be better all across the board whether gaming or doing multi thread apps. if you cant wait, get a 2600k. u can save some money going with a cheaper case. everything else is solid.

[xlDeMoNiClx]

HP Pavilion dv7-6165us Entertainment PC

Operating System
MS Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit

CPU
AMD K12 56 °C
Llano 32nm Technology

RAM
6.00 GB DDR3 @ 665MHz (9-9-9-24)

Motherboard
Hewlett-Packard 3593 (Socket FS1) 55 °C

Graphics
Generic PnP Monitor (1600x900@60Hz)
AMD Radeon™ HD 6620G (HP) 56 °C
AMD Radeon HD 6750M (HP)
CrossFire Disabled

Hard Drives
625GB TOSHIBA TOSHIBA MK6476GSX ATA Device (SATA)

Optical Drives
hp CDDVDW TS-L633J ATA Device

Audio
IDT High Definition Audio CODEC

Runs Battlefield 3 and Skyrim like a boss.

[TouchdownRobots]

Runs Battlefield 3 and Skyrim like a boss.

http://www.motivationalz.com/pictures/skeptical_hippo.jpg

[xlDeMoNiClx]

Your skepticism is understandable but my experiences overpower it. I was even surprised when I first tried it out.

[LAballin24]

Apparently the new GTX 560 ti is being released on Nov 29. so I'm hoping for a price drop in the current one..

[theshoupguy]

Your skepticism is understandable but my experiences overpower it. I was even surprised when I first tried it out.I'll believe it. My POS machine can run Skyrim surprisingly well, and all I'm currently running is:

Intel dual-core 2.6ghz
some dell standard XPS mobo circa 2006
4gb ram
Geforce 8800 GT
500w PSU?
250gb internal, 750gb external (w/ USB 2.0)

[theshoupguy]

Apparently the new GTX 560 ti is being released on Nov 29. so I'm hoping for a price drop in the current one..A new 560 Ti?
Wha? :confused:

[xlDeMoNiClx]

I'll believe it. My POS machine can run Skyrim surprisingly well, and all I'm currently running is:

Intel dual-core 2.6ghz
some dell standard XPS mobo circa 2006
4gb ram
Geforce 8800 GT
500w PSU?
250gb internal, 750gb external (w/ USB 2.0)Yeah I was more concerned about BF3 after i saw the amazing graphics but it actually isn't as hard on your computer as you'd think. Every game reviewers have said that it isn't hard to run it on medium-quality settings.

[Zephyz]

http://gyazo.com/07a6bde4ba1ef9a0528c75ba44e38fe4.png

How do I improve this piece of ****?

[SynapticCleft]

Get a better GPU. Add some more ram, be at 4gb at least. Overclock your cpu to 2.5-3.0 ghz. Lastly upgrade to a 64bit Win 7 to take advantage of 4gb ram.

[MoarCarbsplz]

Amd phenom 1090t 3.3ghz

2x4gb corsair vengence 1600 9-9-9-24 ram

sapphire radeon hd 6870 1gb

corsair 850w 85% efficient PSU

seagate 500GB 7200rpm

Coolermaster Haf 922 case + extra 20cm fan

Asus M5A99X EVO AMD 990X (Socket AM3+) motherboard

Asus 23.6 inch monitor

[jamie93]

http://gyazo.com/07a6bde4ba1ef9a0528c75ba44e38fe4.png

How do I improve this piece of ****?

a better gpu, more ram and an ssd.

[theshoupguy]

Alright fellas, I finally decided on specs for the next rig, and have about half the pieces.

Decided to go with:

CPU: i5-2500k, planning on overclocking
MOBO: ASUS P8Z68-V PRO
VIDEO: dual GTX-560 Tis
RAM: 16gb (4x4)
PSU: PCP&C 750W
128gb SSD with a 1TB internal HD
Antec 1200 full-tower case
CORSAIR H80 (CWCH80) High Performance Liquid CPU Cooler
Logitech G400 mouse & Razer Black Widow Ultimate keyboard
Windows 7 Pro, 64-bit
Westinghouse 40" LED TV

Still have to get the CPU and MOBO - should have it by the end of the month, and have the whole thing up and running by the first week in December. Will get pics up once she's functional. :DGot the remaining pieces in yesterday, so today was build day.

https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/s720x720/387643_10150351971466116_509591115_8530428_1316678 623_n.jpg

https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/s720x720/382684_10150351990976116_509591115_8530455_1707357 016_n.jpg

Installing all the drivers and whatnot now... after that, I'll enroll in Cable/Wire Management 101 class since I so desperately need to clean up that mess. :D

[jamie93]

nice build man, although i wouldnt have gone with the 40". sitting so close to it, it will be pretty awkward to see stuff imo. personally, i wouldnt go higher than a 30" for a monitor, and id go with one like the dell u3011 which has a very high res so you wont see any pixels

your call though. as long as you like it

[theshoupguy]

nice build man, although i wouldnt have gone with the 40". sitting so close to it, it will be pretty awkward to see stuff imo. personally, i wouldnt go higher than a 30" for a monitor, and id go with one like the dell u3011 which has a very high res so you wont see any pixels

your call though. as long as you like itOh, yeah that was just for initial setting up and getting Windows & drivers installed. I still have to do a bit of rearranging after getting a new desk to put it in a decent location. My old rig used a 37" LCD and was at the perfect height/distance for me.. just gotta find one that'll work similarly for this new setup.

[p7nk]

How you looking the CORSAIR H80?

ALso what brand is the SSD?

[Azzurri]

How you looking the CORSAIR H80?

ALso what brand is the SSD?

Corsair Force GT 3 is the fastest SSD now.


Also, should I RMA my VC, it always reset, well drivers recover, video get ****ed up time to time, goes away for though then fuks up again. It's pissing me off. I just don't feel like spending a week or so with no computer, well none good enough like the new one I built.

[p7nk]

Corsair Force GT 3 is the fastest SSD now.


Also, should I RMA my VC, it always reset, well drivers recover, video get ****ed up time to time, goes away for though then fuks up again. It's pissing me off. I just don't feel like spending a week or so with no computer, well none good enough like the new one I built.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=20-233-191&SortField=0&SummaryType=0&Pagesize=10&PurchaseMark=&SelectedRating=-1&VideoOnlyMark=False&VendorMark=&IsFeedbackTab=true&Page=2#scrollFullInfo

doesn't have as good reviews as the crucial

[theshoupguy]

How you looking the CORSAIR H80?

ALso what brand is the SSD?Loving the H80 so far. I have yet to OC the i5 though, so we'll see how it performs once I get to that point. Only downside was that it was kind of a pain in the ass to figure out how to set up compared to everything else.

SSD: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148442

Speedy lil demon. Just wish that crap hadn't happened in Taiwan to make HD prices go up, otherwise I'd probably have another internal by now. :(

[p7nk]

Loving the H80 so far. I have yet to OC the i5 though, so we'll see how it performs once I get to that point. Only downside was that it was kind of a pain in the ass to figure out how to set up compared to everything else.

SSD: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148442

Speedy lil demon. Just wish that crap hadn't happened in Taiwan to make HD prices go up, otherwise I'd probably have another internal by now. :(

que paso en Taiwan

[theshoupguy]

que paso en TaiwanFlooded warehouses or some sh!t. Lots of HDs lost, supply took a big hit.

[LAballin24]

Hard Drive prices right now...FUUUUUU

[Fire8085]

What would be the best deal I could run current and future games for? I would like to stay in the ballpark of 6-800 if possible.

Games currently playing or will play after getting system: WoW, skyrim, bf3

Future games looking into: Project titan (blizzard new mmo), diablo 3

Vid cards I've been looking at include 6950, 560ti and 6870.

Ram would be 8gb

CPU would be i52500k or AMD (semi-equivalent)

Possibly a monitor (let's say without for now)

500gb minimum HDD

SSD isnt necessary but desired.

Case/Mobo/soundcard/fans etc I'm kind of all clueless about.

I went on newegg and priced things out to about 1k. This is with reviews that are at least 4/5. Customer choice parts and at least a handful of reviews on an item etc.

What do you guys think?



Rosewill CHALLENGER Black Gaming ATX Mid Tower Computer Case, comes with Three Fans-1x Front Blue LED 120mm Fan, 1x Top 140mm ...
Model #:CHALLENGER
Item #:N82E16811147153
Return Policy:Iron Egg Standard Return Policy
In Stock

$59.99 -$10.00 Instant $49.99
1 ASUS Crosshair IV Formula AM3 AMD 890FX SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX AMD Motherboard

ASUS Crosshair IV Formula AM3 AMD 890FX SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX AMD Motherboard
Model #:Crosshair IV Formula
Item #:N82E16813131644
Return Policy:Limited Replacement Only Return Policy
In Stock
Mail in Rebate Card

$229.99 -$20.00 Instant $209.99
1 GIGABYTE GV-R695OC-1GD Radeon HD 6950 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card

GIGABYTE GV-R695OC-1GD Radeon HD 6950 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card
Model #:GV-R695OC-1GD
Item #:N82E16814125385
Return Policy:VGA Standard Return Policy
In Stock

$249.99 $249.99
1 CORSAIR Enthusiast Series CMPSU-650TX 650W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Compatible with Core i7 Power Supply

CORSAIR Enthusiast Series CMPSU-650TX 650W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Compatible with Core ...
Model #:CMPSU-650TX
Item #:N82E16817139005
Return Policy:Iron Egg Standard Return Policy
In Stock
Mail in Rebate Card

$119.99 -$15.00 Instant $104.99
1 AMD Phenom II X6 1100T Black Edition Thuban 3.3GHz, 3.7GHz Turbo Socket AM3 125W Six-Core Desktop Processor HDE00ZFBGRBOX

AMD Phenom II X6 1100T Black Edition Thuban 3.3GHz, 3.7GHz Turbo Socket AM3 125W Six-Core Desktop Processor HDE00ZFBGRBOX
Model #:HDE00ZFBGRBOX
Item #:N82E16819103913
Return Policy:CPU Replacement Only Return Policy
In Stock

$199.99 $199.99
1 G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Desktop Memory Model F3-10666CL9D-8GBRL

G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Desktop Memory Model F3-10666CL9D-8GBRL
Model #:F3-10666CL9D-8GBRL
Item #:N82E16820231311
Return Policy:Memory Standard Return Policy
In Stock

$42.99 $42.99
1 SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive

SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
Model #:HD103SJ
Item #:N82E16822152185
Return Policy:Standard Return Policy
In Stock

$149.99 $149.99
1 Rosewill RK-800G Black 104 Normal Keys PS/2 Wired Gaming Keyboard

Rosewill RK-800G Black 104 Normal Keys PS/2 Wired Gaming Keyboard
Model #:RK-800G
Item #:N82E16823201038
Return Policy:Standard Return Policy
In Stock

$19.99 -$5.00 Instant $14.99
1 ASUS DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS Black SATA 24X DVD Burner - Bulk - OEM

ASUS DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS Black SATA 24X DVD Burner - Bulk - OEM
Model #:DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS
Item #:N82E16827135204
Return Policy:Standard Return Policy
In Stock

$19.99 $19.99
1 MASSCOOL FD08025S1M4 80mm Case Fan

MASSCOOL FD08025S1M4 80mm Case Fan
Model #:FD08025S1M4
Item #:N82E16835150007
Return Policy:Standard Return Policy
In Stock

$2.99 $2.99
Subtotal: $1,045.90

[Improve573]

Intel core i5-2320k
Amd Radeon 6770
8gb ddr3 ram
Some random Asus mobo
Windows 7
Free Shipping

$588

[TouchdownRobots]

What would be the best deal I could run current and future games for? I would like to stay in the ballpark of 6-800 if possible.

Games currently playing or will play after getting system: WoW, skyrim, bf3

Future games looking into: Project titan (blizzard new mmo), diablo 3

Vid cards I've been looking at include 6950, 560ti and 6870.

Ram would be 8gb

CPU would be i52500k or AMD (semi-equivalent)

Possibly a monitor (let's say without for now)

500gb minimum HDD

SSD isnt necessary but desired.

Case/Mobo/soundcard/fans etc I'm kind of all clueless about.

I went on newegg and priced things out to about 1k. This is with reviews that are at least 4/5. Customer choice parts and at least a handful of reviews on an item etc.

What do you guys think?



Rosewill CHALLENGER Black Gaming ATX Mid Tower Computer Case, comes with Three Fans-1x Front Blue LED 120mm Fan, 1x Top 140mm ...
Model #:CHALLENGER
Item #:N82E16811147153
Return Policy:Iron Egg Standard Return Policy
In Stock

$59.99 -$10.00 Instant $49.99
1 ASUS Crosshair IV Formula AM3 AMD 890FX SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX AMD Motherboard

ASUS Crosshair IV Formula AM3 AMD 890FX SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX AMD Motherboard
Model #:Crosshair IV Formula
Item #:N82E16813131644
Return Policy:Limited Replacement Only Return Policy
In Stock
Mail in Rebate Card

$229.99 -$20.00 Instant $209.99
1 GIGABYTE GV-R695OC-1GD Radeon HD 6950 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card

GIGABYTE GV-R695OC-1GD Radeon HD 6950 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card
Model #:GV-R695OC-1GD
Item #:N82E16814125385
Return Policy:VGA Standard Return Policy
In Stock

$249.99 $249.99
1 CORSAIR Enthusiast Series CMPSU-650TX 650W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Compatible with Core i7 Power Supply

CORSAIR Enthusiast Series CMPSU-650TX 650W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Compatible with Core ...
Model #:CMPSU-650TX
Item #:N82E16817139005
Return Policy:Iron Egg Standard Return Policy
In Stock
Mail in Rebate Card

$119.99 -$15.00 Instant $104.99
1 AMD Phenom II X6 1100T Black Edition Thuban 3.3GHz, 3.7GHz Turbo Socket AM3 125W Six-Core Desktop Processor HDE00ZFBGRBOX

AMD Phenom II X6 1100T Black Edition Thuban 3.3GHz, 3.7GHz Turbo Socket AM3 125W Six-Core Desktop Processor HDE00ZFBGRBOX
Model #:HDE00ZFBGRBOX
Item #:N82E16819103913
Return Policy:CPU Replacement Only Return Policy
In Stock

$199.99 $199.99
1 G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Desktop Memory Model F3-10666CL9D-8GBRL

G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Desktop Memory Model F3-10666CL9D-8GBRL
Model #:F3-10666CL9D-8GBRL
Item #:N82E16820231311
Return Policy:Memory Standard Return Policy
In Stock

$42.99 $42.99
1 SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive

SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
Model #:HD103SJ
Item #:N82E16822152185
Return Policy:Standard Return Policy
In Stock

$149.99 $149.99
1 Rosewill RK-800G Black 104 Normal Keys PS/2 Wired Gaming Keyboard

Rosewill RK-800G Black 104 Normal Keys PS/2 Wired Gaming Keyboard
Model #:RK-800G
Item #:N82E16823201038
Return Policy:Standard Return Policy
In Stock

$19.99 -$5.00 Instant $14.99
1 ASUS DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS Black SATA 24X DVD Burner - Bulk - OEM

ASUS DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS Black SATA 24X DVD Burner - Bulk - OEM
Model #:DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS
Item #:N82E16827135204
Return Policy:Standard Return Policy
In Stock

$19.99 $19.99
1 MASSCOOL FD08025S1M4 80mm Case Fan

MASSCOOL FD08025S1M4 80mm Case Fan
Model #:FD08025S1M4
Item #:N82E16835150007
Return Policy:Standard Return Policy
In Stock

$2.99 $2.99
Subtotal: $1,045.90
cheaper motherboard. Asus M5A97 EVO would be good.

drop to a quad core. Phenom II X4 960T, 965 or 955. FX-4100 would be good too and overclock to at least 4.5GHz

drop the extra case fans

Case is personal preference but an Antec 300 or Cooler Master HAF 912 are nice for the price

you could get a cheaper PSU as long as its made by Corsair, Seasonic, Antec. 650 watts should be plenty for a single GPU system

shop around for hard drive prices

watch for video card prices to drop in the next few weeks with the release of the Radeon HD7000 series

[Hey_Jay]

just purchased this to play skyrim better.. what do you'll think. i should of got 1866 ram, but missed that one. $660 for all of it

Asus Socket AM3+/ AMD 970/ Quad CrossFireX/ SATA3&USB3.0/ A&GbE/ ATX Motherboard (M5A97)
Corsair Vengeance 8 GB ( 2 x 4 GB ) DDR3 1600 MHz (PC3 12800) 240-Pin DDR3
Evga GeForce GT 430 1024 MB DDR3 PCI Express 2.0
AMD FX-6100 Zambezi 3.3GHz Socket AM3+ 95W Six-Core Desktop Processor
Corsair Enthusiast Series 750-Watt
Crucial 64 GB m4 2.5-Inch Solid State Drive SATA 6Gb/s
Case http://benchmarkreviews.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=832&Itemid=61&limit=1&limitstart=5

angus peppered :D

[TouchdownRobots]

just purchased this to play skyrim better.. what do you'll think. i should of got 1866 ram, but missed that one. $660 for all of it

Asus Socket AM3+/ AMD 970/ Quad CrossFireX/ SATA3&USB3.0/ A&GbE/ ATX Motherboard (M5A97)
Corsair Vengeance 8 GB ( 2 x 4 GB ) DDR3 1600 MHz (PC3 12800) 240-Pin DDR3
Evga GeForce GT 430 1024 MB DDR3 PCI Express 2.0
AMD FX-6100 Zambezi 3.3GHz Socket AM3+ 95W Six-Core Desktop Processor
Corsair Enthusiast Series 750-Watt
Crucial 64 GB m4 2.5-Inch Solid State Drive SATA 6Gb/s
Case http://benchmarkreviews.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=832&Itemid=61&limit=1&limitstart=5

angus peppered :D

you dun goofed. fail video card is fail. fail at getting a hexa core CPU for a game that doesnt use more than two threads. fail at getting a full tower case for that build. fail at overpowered 750watt PSU for a build that needs only 400watts

pepper your angus for medium settings at best with that POS video card

[Hey_Jay]

you dun goofed. fail video card is fail. fail at getting a hexa core CPU for a game that doesnt use more than two threads. fail at getting a full tower case for that build. fail at overpowered 750watt PSU for a build that needs only 400watts

pepper your angus for medium settings at best with that POS video card
so there is nothing good about it? internet wizard?

[TouchdownRobots]

so there is nothing good about it? internet wizard?

everything is fine if you get a much better video card. but you didnt spend your money very wisely

[Hey_Jay]

everything is fine if you get a much better video card. but you didnt spend your money very wisely
i bought the video card 3 weeks ago, so i might get another one. seeing i paid 65 for it , the good ones go for 200. really tho is it even detectable a $200 video card

[TouchdownRobots]

i bought the video card 3 weeks ago, so i might get another one. seeing i paid 65 for it , the good ones go for 200. really tho is it even detectable a $200 video card

look at this chart. your Geforce 430 will only get about 30FPS at medium detail at 1080P
http://media.bestofmicro.com/7/P/315205/original/Med%201920.png

do you think its worth it to pay over $600 on a system to play at console level graphics?

you should be looking to get a Radeon 6850 at minimum

[Fire8085]

Fixed my build, check out last post here....
http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=140272253

[OverWorked]

http://i.imgur.com/PApeP.jpg

Just upgraded the GPU and everything else is next. The 560 ti replaces a 9600GT, runs soooo much quieter and cooler.

Some benchmarks if anyone is interested.

Metro 2033

Options: Resolution: 1680 x 1050; DirectX: DirectX 11; Quality: High; Antialiasing: AAA; Texture filtering: AF 16X; Advanced PhysX: Enabled; Tesselation: Enabled; DOF: Enabled

Average Framerate: 30.79
Max. Framerate: 49.85

Far Cry 2

Settings: Demo(Ranch Small), 1680x1050 (60Hz), D3D10, Fixed Time Step(No), Disable Artificial Intelligence(No), Full Screen, Anti-Aliasing(4x), VSync(Yes), Overall Quality(Ultra High), Vegetation(Very High), Shading(Ultra High), Terrain(Ultra High), Geometry(Ultra High), Post FX(High), Texture(Ultra High), Shadow(Ultra High), Ambient(High), Hdr(Yes), Bloom(Yes), Fire(Very High), Physics(Very High), RealTrees(Very High)

Average Framerate: 55.33
Max. Framerate: 62.00

[theshoupguy]

Any of you multi-monitor brahs have good suggestions on spacious, sturdy desks? Looking to have both rigs on the same viewing level and fairly close to each other so I'm not rolling back and forth between desks.

Was looking at something similar to this, but maybe not a glass top. Not looking for any huge 500lb wooden creations.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001FB5LE8/ref=s9_simh_gw_p201_d0_g201_i2?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0D ER&pf_rd_s=center-6&pf_rd_r=0PW0RF54VG5RWS1AP0WA&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=470938731&pf_rd_i=507846

[effen5]

Anybody own a htpc?

[SynapticCleft]

I have 300+ movies on a 1tb HDD that I sometimes hook up to a 42in LCD, does that count as an htpc?




Any of you multi-monitor brahs have good suggestions on spacious, sturdy desks? Looking to have both rigs on the same viewing level and fairly close to each other so I'm not rolling back and forth between desks.

Was looking at something similar to this, but maybe not a glass top. Not looking for any huge 500lb wooden creations.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001FB5LE8/ref=s9_simh_gw_p201_d0_g201_i2?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0D ER&pf_rd_s=center-6&pf_rd_r=0PW0RF54VG5RWS1AP0WA&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=470938731&pf_rd_i=507846I prefer going out to actual stores and seeing the desk up close and testing out the display models. The one on your link looks thick, solid, tight. The whole thing is for $100, not bad for a spacious desk like that. Wouldbuy/10

[TouchdownRobots]

Anybody own a htpc?

my HTPC:
Silverstone Grandia GD05B Case (replaced stock fans with Scythe Slipstreams)
Asus AMD 760G MATX motherboard
AMD Athlon X2 3.0GHz
4GB DDR2 RAM
40 GB SSD boot drive
500GB HDD
HIS Radeon 5670
Ceton InfiniTV 4 (PCIE Quad Digital Cable tuner) http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16815706001
Asus DVD drive
OCZ Modular PSU
Windows 7 64 bit
XBOX controllers
Media Center Remote
Logitech Dinovo Mini Bluetooth keyboard/trackpad
External 4 bay ESATA RAID Enclosure: four 2TB hard drives in RAID 5 (6TB usable space with redundant 4th drive)
50" Plasma TV

[Boatski]

My GTX580 turns a year old and begins to die. What a shame.

[LAballin24]

My GTX580 turns a year old and begins to die. What a shame.

Rest in Peace, sweet Beast

[Boatski]

Rest in Peace, sweet Beast

Yeah, I'm on the phone now with EVGA setting up an RMA.

Luckily I got a backup card for SWTOR.

[jackamo2887]

About to pull the trigger on this:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130739

560 ti 448 cores...

yay or nay?

I am also running i7 920 at 2.7ghz and 8gb of ram.

[effen5]

my HTPC:
Silverstone Grandia GD05B Case (replaced stock fans with Scythe Slipstreams)
Asus AMD 760G MATX motherboard
AMD Athlon X2 3.0GHz
4GB DDR2 RAM
40 GB SSD boot drive
500GB HDD
HIS Radeon 5670
Ceton InfiniTV 4 (PCIE Quad Digital Cable tuner) http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16815706001
Asus DVD drive
OCZ Modular PSU
Windows 7 64 bit
XBOX controllers
Media Center Remote
Logitech Dinovo Mini Bluetooth keyboard/trackpad
External 4 bay ESATA RAID Enclosure: four 2TB hard drives in RAID 5 (6TB usable space with redundant 4th drive)
50" Plasma TV

Got a pic there fellow Chicago brah?

[TouchdownRobots]

Got a pic there fellow Chicago brah?

http://www.silentpcreview.com/silverstone-gd05
http://www.silentpcreview.com/files/images/silverstone-gd05/01-profile.jpg
http://www.silentpcreview.com/files/images/silverstone-gd05/02-front.jpg
http://www.silentpcreview.com/files/images/silverstone-gd05/11-installed.jpg

[TouchdownRobots]

About to pull the trigger on this:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130739

560 ti 448 cores...

yay or nay?

I am also running i7 920 at 2.7ghz and 8gb of ram.

read the reviews from Anandtech and Tom's Hardware. the Radeon 6950 is a better value

[owen54]

Op I'm shooting you a pm I have an issue I need some advise on.

[Havok83]

Just got an EVGA GTX 560! About to add it soon. Finally can play Skyrim

[seriouslysrs]

sup guys. i'm sure this is asked a lot but if someone could give me a quick answer that'd be great.

i just bought BF3 for pc and can hardly run it on low. i built a gaming computer 5 or 6 years ago but have been out of the game since then so i have no idea where to even start when looking for parts. i'm kind of throwing around the idea of selling my laptop and building another desktop so if you guys could give me a ballpark figure id be looking at price wise to run bf3 on high or ultra that'd be awesome.

[ezrafitch1990]

hey brahs just built a gaming laptop few months ago have no problem playing skyrim on ultra high and bf3 on high sc2 on ultra bla bla bla

wanna upgrade my computer a bit but not sure what i should get any advice brahs?

i5 2500K
ASRock z68 Pro3 mobo
Zotac GTX 560 Ti factory OC'd
8GB 1600Mhz DDR3 RAM
700W PSU
1TB HD

edit i mean desktop not laptop

[SynapticCleft]

hey brahs just built a gaming laptop few months ago have no problem playing skyrim on ultra high and bf3 on high sc2 on ultra bla bla bla

wanna upgrade my computer a bit but not sure what i should get any advice brahs?

i5 2500K
ASRock z68 Pro3 mobo
Zotac GTX 560 Ti factory OC'd
8GB 1600Mhz DDR3 RAM
700W PSU
1TB HDThose specs will play Skyrim/BF3/SC2 on ultra. No need to upgrade, just overclock your hardware if you want to push your rig to it's limit.

Why do you want to upgrade anyways?



sup guys. i'm sure this is asked a lot but if someone could give me a quick answer that'd be great.

i just bought BF3 for pc and can hardly run it on low. i built a gaming computer 5 or 6 years ago but have been out of the game since then so i have no idea where to even start when looking for parts. i'm kind of throwing around the idea of selling my laptop and building another desktop so if you guys could give me a ballpark figure id be looking at price wise to run bf3 on high or ultra that'd be awesome.Why not sell your laptop and old components on your current gaming comp to upgrade your rig?

Price is going to depend on what resolution you want to play and at what graphic detail. So what resolution is your monitor and do you want to play on low, med, high, or ultra setting?

[ezrafitch1990]

Those specs will play Skyrim/BF3/SC2 on ultra. No need to upgrade, just overclock your hardware if you want to push your rig to it's limit.

Why do you want to upgrade anyways?


wanna get myself something nice fro xmas lulz

[TouchdownRobots]

sup guys. i'm sure this is asked a lot but if someone could give me a quick answer that'd be great.

i just bought BF3 for pc and can hardly run it on low. i built a gaming computer 5 or 6 years ago but have been out of the game since then so i have no idea where to even start when looking for parts. i'm kind of throwing around the idea of selling my laptop and building another desktop so if you guys could give me a ballpark figure id be looking at price wise to run bf3 on high or ultra that'd be awesome.

If you can re-use your current case and maybe power supply, hard drive, DVD then you could easily put together a machine capable of High settings for under $500.

[SynapticCleft]

wanna get myself something nice fro xmas lulzWell in that case get an SSD. It will make loading times alot faster on games.

[drifterxs12]

Just about to build this....

COOLER MASTER Storm Scout SGC-2000-KKN1-GP Black Steel / Plastic ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
Sandy Bridge i5 2500k
Cooler Master Hyper 212 +
ASRock Z68 Extreme3 Gen3 LGA 1155 Intel Z68 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
Corsair Vengeance 16GB(4x4Gb) ddr3 1600 RAM
EVGA 01G-P3-1561-AR GeForce GTX 560 Ti FPB (Fermi) 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card
SeaSonic S12II 520 Bronze 520W ATX12V V2.3 / EPS 12V V2.91 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC Power Supply
HITACHI Deskstar 7K1000.D HDS721010DLE630 (0F13180) 1TB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s
ASUS 24X DVD Burner -
Not sure on monitor yet. 24" prob

[biglogonafrog]

About to pull the trigger on this:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130739

560 ti 448 cores...

yay or nay?

I am also running i7 920 at 2.7ghz and 8gb of ram.

Not sure.. I payed the same price for a zotac 570 before rebate

[IsLifeRealLife]

Hey brahs how good is the Sapphire 100314-3L Radeon HD 6870 1 GB?

[TouchdownRobots]

Hey brahs how good is the Sapphire 100314-3L Radeon HD 6870 1 GB?

its the best card under $200 at the moment. depends on the games you play and the rest of your system specs.

[Fire8085]

Just about to build this....

COOLER MASTER Storm Scout SGC-2000-KKN1-GP Black Steel / Plastic ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
Sandy Bridge i5 2500k
Cooler Master Hyper 212 +
ASRock Z68 Extreme3 Gen3 LGA 1155 Intel Z68 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
Corsair Vengeance 16GB(4x4Gb) ddr3 1600 RAM
EVGA 01G-P3-1561-AR GeForce GTX 560 Ti FPB (Fermi) 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card
SeaSonic S12II 520 Bronze 520W ATX12V V2.3 / EPS 12V V2.91 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC Power Supply
HITACHI Deskstar 7K1000.D HDS721010DLE630 (0F13180) 1TB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s
ASUS 24X DVD Burner -
Not sure on monitor yet. 24" prob

I got a different case and GPU, less RAM.

The latch for the CPU is a pain and requires a lot of force. Otherwise the mobo is nice.

If you're getting an aftermarket CPU cooler, the ram and it will fit very tighly, keep that in mind. I had to adjust the fan placement for this.

[Fire8085]

Hey brahs how good is the Sapphire 100314-3L Radeon HD 6870 1 GB?

Got my powercolor 6870 1 GB for 139 after rebate.

[dabomb691]

get ready to jizz:

Intel i7 2600k 3.7ghz
16gig ram
MSi GTX 580 Twin-Frozr II/OC 1.5 GB dedicated 4.1 gig total
Gigabyte Z68X-UD3H-B3 motherboard LGA 1155
SeaSonic X750 Gold 750W ATX12V V2.3/EPS 12V V2.91
ASUS VW246H 24" LCD
60gig OCZ Agility SATA III Solid State Drive (garbage, dont buy it)
2 TB Western Digital SATA III 7200 RPM 64mb
Antec High-End Performance Case P183 V3 (HIGHLY RECOMMENDED SILENT CASE)

my computer makes 0 noise. completely quiet

[Renegade83]

Went gigantic this upgrade :

EVGA x58 FTW3
i7 950 + Thermalright Silver Arrow
2 x EVGA GTX580 3GB SLI
12 GB Corsair Dominator RAM
512 GB Crucial M4 SSD
Asus Essence STX Soundcard
Corsair AX 1200w
CoolerMaster HAF X
30" HP ZR30W Monitor (2560x1600)
Audioengine A2 Speakers
Sennheiser HD 650 Phones

http://i.imgur.com/ERNIe.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/VlLwI.jpg

Still working on my wiring a little.