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

[SirStealth]

Sick Setup, are you using onboard audio or do you have a dedicated sound card?

I'm using an X-Fi Titanium Fatal1ty pro sound card and honestly it's not much of a difference between onboard audio. Pretty sure a sound card is really only 100% needed if you have a ridiculous sound setup like studio quality $1000 headphones or a lot more expensive speaker setup than the 2500's lol. But yeah I'm no audiphile myself so if it makes you feel better buy a cheap sound card and see how it works out. My PSU is overkill for sure for what I'm running now but I'll be throwing in another 580 soon and it wont be that much overkill.

[ezrafitch1990]

I'm looking around on some PC-assembling sites from my neighbourhood, and now I have a few questions.

One site gives me the following choices: (http://www.power4pc.be/pc_configurat..._aanbieding=15)

Motherboard:
Asrock P67 Pro3 SE 84,00 €
Asrock P67 Extreme4 v3 139,90 €

Would be combined with an 2500K, but which one should I take? I'm trying to stay on a budget, so I'm not really tempted to spend a lot more money for a marginal performance boost..

CPU Coolers:
Will I be fine with the stock cooler? I'm not planning on OC'ing as of yet, only when some applications are becoming laggy, I'd consider it.

RAM:

Kingston ValueRam or HyperX. The second one is a bit more expensive (not that much), runs at 1.65V instead of 1.5V and 1600mhz instead of 1333.

GPU:

No idea what to chose here:

PowerColor RADEON HD6790 (840 mhz, 1024 mb, DDR5, 4200 mhz, 256 bit, 11, fan) 116,07 €
His RADEON HD6850 (775 mhz, 1024 mb, DDR5, 4000 mhz, 256 bit, 11, fan) 135,94 €
Asus RADEON HD6870 DC (915 mhz, 1024 mb, DDR5, 4200 mhz, 256 bit, 11, fan) 155,26 €
PowerColor RADEON HD6970 (880 mhz, 2048 mb, DDR5, 5500 mhz, 256 bit, 11, fan) 294,22 €

Last one is most likely too expensive for me.

HDD: Can't really go wrong here, I think?
Choice between Samsung and WD.. (went with WD cause of more space)

SSD:
Micron Crucial M4 (64gb, just for windows and some games)

im using an asrock z68 pro-3 and ive had no problems with it. extremely easy to overclock, yeah only 1 PCI-E port but i only need 1 GPU anyways. im pretty sure i read somewhere ASRock is owned by ASUS

[Spaminator92]

Thanks for the advice guys.

I'll probably be building the system myself after all. I was a bit scared of forgetting cables/fans/cooling paste/.. but I can't do much wrong when I follow all the steps and think every step through, right?
I'm selecting part by part now, so I can get a more concrete idea of what I want, and then start looking for good deals.

Case:

Antec One Hundred
http://store.antec.com/Product/enclo...5-15240-2.aspx
http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/201...ndred-review/1

Please do share your advice if you have some

[6Pax]

I'm using an X-Fi Titanium Fatal1ty pro sound card and honestly it's not much of a difference between onboard audio. Pretty sure a sound card is really only 100% needed if you have a ridiculous sound setup like studio quality $1000 headphones or a lot more expensive speaker setup than the 2500's lol. But yeah I'm no audiphile myself so if it makes you feel better buy a cheap sound card and see how it works out. My PSU is overkill for sure for what I'm running now bu I'll be throwing in another 580 soon and it wont be that much overkill.

I think the creative cards are designed more with gamer oriented positional audio accuracy than pure sound quality in mind, which is obviously a relatively useless features with a 2.1 system. From what I've read, id be willing to bet that pairing them with something from the auzen or xonar line would give you a more tangible benefit... Or Atleast I hope so because that's what I'm looking in to.

How you like the 2500's though, had them long?

[ezrafitch1990]

Thanks for the advice guys.

I'll probably be building the system myself after all. I was a bit scared of forgetting cables/fans/cooling paste/.. but I can't do much wrong when I follow all the steps and think every step through, right?
I'm selecting part by part now, so I can get a more concrete idea of what I want, and then start looking for good deals.

Case:

Antec One Hundred
http://store.antec.com/Product/enclo...5-15240-2.aspx
http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/201...ndred-review/1

Please do share your advice if you have some

building a comp is extremely easy, its hard to mess up and not mess up at the same time, pretty much everything should fit where it goes, but then again u might forget to plug some shiz in. but it really isnt too difficult, if you're using a stock cooler (i would get an aftermarket if i were you) stock heat sink usually has thermal paste pre-applied otherwise, youtube will show you tutorials on it.

for gaming i would go with i5 2500K -> really strong processor, easy to overclock and performance of i7 gaming-wise doesnt really perform much better.
get an h67 or z68 chipset mobo to go along with the CPU as it will be really easy to OC
dont skimp out and get an extremely cheap PSU
dont skimp out and get a cheap case either, i went on Newegg and got Raidmax Tornado which doesnt look bad at all but airflow isnt the best causing semi-high temps
i have a GTX 560 Ti and its great, go with a good pricey GPU and you wont be dissapointed
i would go with 8GB DDR3 1600 RAM (at LEAST 1600) and make sure yo ucheck you your mobo and see if it supports the MHz (1600 or whatever you choose) RAM so you wont have any difficulty there

[Spaminator92]

building a comp is extremely easy, its hard to mess up and not mess up at the same time, pretty much everything should fit where it goes, but then again u might forget to plug some shiz in. but it really isnt too difficult, if you're using a stock cooler (i would get an aftermarket if i were you) stock heat sink usually has thermal paste pre-applied otherwise, youtube will show you tutorials on it.

for gaming i would go with i5 2500K -> really strong processor, easy to overclock and performance of i7 gaming-wise doesnt really perform much better.
get an h67 or z68 chipset mobo to go along with the CPU as it will be really easy to OC
dont skimp out and get an extremely cheap PSU
dont skimp out and get a cheap case either, i went on Newegg and got Raidmax Tornado which doesnt look bad at all but airflow isnt the best causing semi-high temps
i have a GTX 560 Ti and its great, go with a good pricey GPU and you wont be dissapointed
i would go with 8GB DDR3 1600 RAM (at LEAST 1600) and make sure yo ucheck you your mobo and see if it supports the MHz (1600 or whatever you choose) RAM so you wont have any difficulty there

Thanks brah.

The i5-2500k is one of the parts I'm almost 100% sure of. I'm not planning on overclocking as of yet (or maybe just a slight a bit) so I'll stick with the stock cooler for now, and buy an aftermarket one if I ever decide to overclock more.
I'll be looking into the GPU and mobo today.
I have no idea of what a good PSU is/how much my system needs. When I fill in this site(http://extreme.outervision.com/PSUEngine) with the basic information I've got now (and taking some guesses on the fans; they give me a 362W min and recommend 412W).

The case I posted got some great reviews on newegg, so I think I'll be okay with it?

I was looking for some benchmarks of GPU's yesterday and stumbled across this site:
http://www.videocardbenchmark.net/high_end_gpus.html

The 6850 seems to be performing better than the 6870 here, and is cheaper? The 6850 has way more samples though, but still.. Maybe I'll go with a bit more expensive one, because I'm planning on using this PC for atleast 4+ years without upgrading too much. I'd like to play games like BF3 and the new COD on high without any porblems.

[Boatski]

Thanks brah.

The i5-2500k is one of the parts I'm almost 100% sure of. I'm not planning on overclocking as of yet (or maybe just a slight a bit) so I'll stick with the stock cooler for now, and buy an aftermarket one if I ever decide to overclock more.
I'll be looking into the GPU and mobo today.
I have no idea of what a good PSU is/how much my system needs. When I fill in this site(http://extreme.outervision.com/PSUEngine) with the basic information I've got now (and taking some guesses on the fans; they give me a 362W min and recommend 412W).

The case I posted got some great reviews on newegg, so I think I'll be okay with it?

I was looking for some benchmarks of GPU's yesterday and stumbled across this site:
http://www.videocardbenchmark.net/high_end_gpus.html

The 6850 seems to be performing better than the 6870 here, and is cheaper? The 6850 has way more samples though, but still.. Maybe I'll go with a bit more expensive one, because I'm planning on using this PC for atleast 4+ years without upgrading too much. I'd like to play games like BF3 and the new COD on high without any porblems.

I would suggest going with nVidia because it offers Physx and AMD does not.

[Spaminator92]

I would suggest going with nVidia because it offers Physx and AMD does not.

Is it that much of an advantage?

I'm kinda indecisive about which motherboard to pick. Either a P8P67 or a P8Z68. The latter is the newer of course, but it doesn't seem to come with many improvements that appeal to me (I'd be running a dedicated GPU and 64GB SSD anyway..)
The first is a bit cheaper as well, although there are so many different versions and manufacturers of each board, I'm clueless of which one to chose..

[Boatski]

Is it that much of an advantage?

It's more of a preference. Search some Physx examples on YouTube.

[owai]

Hi guys im getting ready to finalize my componenets just wondering if you any of you have any thoughts on some of the things im choosing.

i5 2500k - im guessing thats fine

MSI P67 -GD55 - now this is one that im not to sure about its pretty much the most i want to spend on a MOBO and im pretty sure it supports SLI and RAM that i'll be choosing ( Corsair Vengeance 2x2gb) but as this is my first build im not to sure how good it is , i was swayed by the easy 1 button OC and the Military class parts thinking atleast it will last awhile also the UEFI Bios maybe a little easier to use for a novice to OC , but are their any other boards that maybe better for the same price?

Cooler master GX650 PSU - i think it will be ok to run a 560 ti and my CPU only going to have one hard drive as i can't afford SSD just yet if i were to run SLI i think i'd get a higher PSU , just wondering if i could OC my cpu a little say to 4.0ghz and still be ok with this psu?

Case Cooler master CM690 ii lite - comes with the psu and seems to have good reviews i'll be adding two more 120mm fans for extra cooling

Samsung 1tb spinpoint 7200rpm hdd - can't afford SSD but will be adding one prob after december.

looking at the Asus GTX 560 Ti Direct CUii 830 mhz anyone got one? or had any problems before?

Also Headsets anyone got any recommendations i've been looking at the Corsair HS1 (usb) and it seems to have good reviews i'll be mainly playing BF3 so only really bothered about ingame sound not music quality.

Overall it will be a gaming system but maybe next year i want to start uploading videos to youtube and doing a little video editing so im guessing some extra RAM and a SSD will come in handy

Thanks guys



looks like i killed this thread....whoops :P

[Huse]

what are people's opinions on buying macbooks if you can get them at a high discounted rate (i.e. 50%) if you want to use it for gaming purposes. If you could connect it to a monitor would you say it would be a good device for the higher end computer games coming out soon.

[Boatski]

what are people's opinions on buying macbooks if you can get them at a high discounted rate (i.e. 50%) if you want to use it for gaming purposes. If you could connect it to a monitor would you say it would be a good device for the higher end computer games coming out soon.

They're not really built for gaming and not all games work well in Bootcamp.

[James086]

what are people's opinions on buying macbooks if you can get them at a high discounted rate (i.e. 50%) if you want to use it for gaming purposes. If you could connect it to a monitor would you say it would be a good device for the higher end computer games coming out soon.

They have very low-end graphics cards so they won't perform well in games. Ideally you shouldn't get a laptop for gaming but if you do look at something like a Asus G series laptop or a Dell XPS.

[Spaminator92]

Okay guys, figured most of it out

Case:
Antec One Hundred

Mobo:
Asrock P67 Extreme4

CPU:
i5-2500K - Currently with stock cooler to see how hot it runs, I can always add an aftermarket cooler later on..

GPU:
Sapphire HD6950 Dirt3 Edition

PSU:
???

RAM:
G.Skill Ripjaws X F3-12800CL9D-8GBXL (1600 mhz, CPU is 1333mhz standard, but can be OC'd..)

Harde schijf
Samsung Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ, 1TB + current 250GB disk for media storage

SSD:
Crucial m4 CT064M4SSD2 64GB (for OS+some games)


Now, I just need to figure out what PSU to take.. I'm not really looking forward to spending money each year to upgrade my system to the newest standards, so I'll live with less than best performance, but perhaps I'll want to crossfire my GPU in the future, I'm not sure.. To do that I'll need a future proof PSU (aka. more wattage) - what do you guys recommend?

[James086]

Go for a good 750W PSU and you'll be fine to crossfire that card in the future. I recommend something like the Corsair TX750, Silverstone Strider + 750, OCZ Fatal1ty Series 750W, Seasonic X-760 80Plus Gold 760W or Enermax 750W Modular. They are more pricey than the other PSUs on the market but for good reason. They are made with better quality capacitors and will not only last longer but are much less likely to fry your components if you do crossfire and get close to the limit.

[miaheatfan]

Go for a good 750W PSU and you'll be fine to crossfire that card in the future. I recommend something like the Corsair TX750, Silverstone Strider + 750, OCZ Fatal1ty Series 750W, Seasonic X-760 80Plus Gold 760W or Enermax 750W Modular. They are more pricey than the other PSUs on the market but for good reason. They are made with better quality capacitors and will not only last longer but are much less likely to fry your components if you do crossfire and get close to the limit.

x2

I have two Sapphire 2GB 6950 Dirt Edition cards coming in the mail today and I'm going to power them with a Corsair TX750.

[Boatski]

Go for a good 750W PSU and you'll be fine to crossfire that card in the future. I recommend something like the Corsair TX750, Silverstone Strider + 750, OCZ Fatal1ty Series 750W, Seasonic X-760 80Plus Gold 760W or Enermax 750W Modular. They are more pricey than the other PSUs on the market but for good reason. They are made with better quality capacitors and will not only last longer but are much less likely to fry your components if you do crossfire and get close to the limit.

x2

I have two Sapphire 2GB 6950 Dirt Edition cards coming in the mail today and I'm going to power them with a Corsair TX750.

I would go with the HX series over the TX series just because it is semi-modular. If you don't care about airflow or cable organization, then go with the TX.

[owai]

Hi guys im getting ready to finalize my componenets just wondering if you any of you have any thoughts on some of the things im choosing.

i5 2500k - im guessing thats fine

MSI P67 -GD55 - now this is one that im not to sure about its pretty much the most i want to spend on a MOBO and im pretty sure it supports SLI and RAM that i'll be choosing ( Corsair Vengeance 2x2gb) but as this is my first build im not to sure how good it is , i was swayed by the easy 1 button OC and the Military class parts thinking atleast it will last awhile also the UEFI Bios maybe a little easier to use for a novice to OC , but are their any other boards that maybe better for the same price?

Cooler master GX650 PSU - i think it will be ok to run a 560 ti and my CPU only going to have one hard drive as i can't afford SSD just yet if i were to run SLI i think i'd get a higher PSU , just wondering if i could OC my cpu a little say to 4.0ghz and still be ok with this psu?

Case Cooler master CM690 ii lite - comes with the psu and seems to have good reviews i'll be adding two more 120mm fans for extra cooling

Samsung 1tb spinpoint 7200rpm hdd - can't afford SSD but will be adding one prob after december.

looking at the Asus GTX 560 Ti Direct CUii 830 mhz anyone got one? or had any problems before?

Also Headsets anyone got any recommendations i've been looking at the Corsair HS1 (usb) and it seems to have good reviews i'll be mainly playing BF3 so only really bothered about ingame sound not music quality.

Overall it will be a gaming system but maybe next year i want to start uploading videos to youtube and doing a little video editing so im guessing some extra RAM and a SSD will come in handy

Thanks guys



looks like i killed this thread....whoops :P

could i get a bump please

[James086]

could i get a bump please

The only thing I'd change is the PSU. 650W is fine for one graphics card and to overclock that CPU but Coolermaster don't make good PSUs, I'd spend a little more and get one from a reputable brand. Corsair, Seasonic, Silverstone, OCZ, Superflower and Enermax make great PSUs.

I don't know much about audio so I can't comment on headphones.

[rashbeep]

psu's are something you really shouldn't skimp on. i have a seasonic x-560 running a rig very similar to the one you want to buy. handles the load very nicely and i'm not even sure if the psu fan has spun very often. as for the headset, unless you actually need one, i'd say find a nice pair of headphones instead. if you want to keep it as inexpensive as possible look at the audio-technica ad700. very good for locating things by sound, but the bass response is pretty weak. if you want to spend some more look into brands like denon, beyerdynamic, sennheiser. get yourself a nice soundcard as well.

[BobbyLite]

could i get a bump please

coolermaster PSU's are garbage

Antec/Corsair/Silverstone/PCPower & Cooling and some seasonics will save ya alot of headaches in the future.
Alot of times the psu's are just branded and contain the same components of an off brand supply.

johnnyguru is the renown psu supply tester check him out

[owai]

The only thing I'd change is the PSU. 650W is fine for one graphics card and to overclock that CPU but Coolermaster don't make good PSUs, I'd spend a little more and get one from a reputable brand. Corsair, Seasonic, Silverstone, OCZ, Superflower and Enermax make great PSUs.

I don't know much about audio so I can't comment on headphones.

coolermaster PSU's are garbage

Antec/Corsair/Silverstone/PCPower & Cooling and some seasonics will save ya alot of headaches in the future.
Alot of times the psu's are just branded and contain the same components of an off brand supply.

johnnyguru is the renown psu supply tester check him out

Awesome thanks for the replies guys , I just assumed coolermaster was a good brand as they have their hand in most components i've seen so thanks for the advice im going to see if i can find a different PSU , i've seen a couple of antecs and corsairs cheap but i guess if im not going case and psu bundle i might see if i can find a modular psu .
does johnnyguru have a youtube page? or is he a poster on here?

Edit just found him on youtube thanks for the help guys ,

on the headphones part im actually looking for one that has a mic built in as it will only be used for gaming also i don't think seinheisers and denon will be in my budget.

Any one got any input on the graphics card i've been looking at? (Asus GTX560 ti CUii 830mhz)

[rashbeep]

Awesome thanks for the replies guys , I just assumed coolermaster was a good brand as they have their hand in most components i've seen so thanks for the advice im going to see if i can find a different PSU , i've seen a couple of antecs and corsairs cheap but i guess if im not going case and psu bundle i might see if i can find a modular psu .
does johnnyguru have a youtube page? or is he a poster on here?

Edit just found him on youtube thanks for the help guys ,

on the headphones part im actually looking for one that has a mic built in as it will only be used for gaming also i don't think seinheisers and denon will be in my budget.

Any one got any input on the graphics card i've been looking at? (Asus GTX560 ti CUii 830mhz)

very well, again i'm not sure about your budget but the sennheiser pc360 headset is one of the best out there. it's pretty costly though, but the sound and mic quality are excellent. as for your graphics card, i don't have that model personally (have the msi tfii 560ti OC) but i can still say the 560ti is an EXCELLENT gaming card. you may find some ati cards that beat it price/performance wise but for me ati wasn't an option as i have had issues with them running certain things in the past. still good cards though for most people.

[owai]

very well, again i'm not sure about your budget but the sennheiser pc360 headset is one of the best out there. it's pretty costly though, but the sound and mic quality are excellent. as for your graphics card, i don't have that model personally (have the msi tfii 560ti OC) but i can still say the 560ti is an EXCELLENT gaming card. you may find some ati cards that beat it price/performance wise but for me ati wasn't an option as i have had issues with them running certain things in the past. still good cards though for most people.

Well the corsair was literally at the top of the budget (uk price is £64 or $104) and from a quick google search the sennheiser are $60 more
Good to know the 560ti is a solid card i figured i'd go with Nvidia as im not bothered about eyefinity and from years ago i had way to many driver issues with an old radeon.

Intially i just want a fullyworking pc to play BF3 and thats all i'll prob do main upgrades like RAM and maybe another 560ti as well as aftermarket CPU cooling early next year at some point .

out of intrest anyone know how much roughly boxed mother boards and psu's weigh ? weird question i know but im off to the states at the end of this month and new egg is cheap as hell compared to uk online sites and was wondering if their not to heavy to buy when im states side and bring back in my checked luggage? im thinking motherboard and CPU is prob a better bet being lighter.

[Spaminator92]

I'm not 100% sure of my case any more.

I mean, it's an okay case (Antec One Hundred) for it's price, but perhaps it'll be a bit too small. I have a lot of space under my desk, so that won't be a problem at all.. Now I just need to find a good, big case for a low price.. Suggestions anyone?

[e1739]

i'm not 100% sure of my case any more.

I mean, it's an okay case (antec one hundred) for it's price, but perhaps it'll be a bit too small. I have a lot of space under my desk, so that won't be a problem at all.. Now i just need to find a good, big case for a low price.. Suggestions anyone?

haf 912

[owai]

Whats your thoughts on the corsair GS600w PSU as an alternative to the Cooler master GX650W ?
As the corsair is pretty much just in budget although there is another brand called ThermalTake is that any good?

[Assembly_Required]

Whats your thoughts on the corsair GS600w PSU as an alternative to the Cooler master GX650W ?
As the corsair is pretty much just in budget although there is another brand called ThermalTake is that any good?

It's not so much the brand that matters but the ODM (original design manufacturer) that makes a difference (brand name DOES matter, just not as much as some people believe). I'm not sure how it is now since they've changed their product lines a bit, but I know Corsair's enthusiast series (TX and HX) and some XFX PSUs and some others are Seasonic ODM. Some companies will use several different ODMs within their product range, anywhere from high end stuff like Seasonic to crappy stuff with bad reputation.

As for GS600, the ODM is CWT, which is not bad but not spectacular either, and it's $99. For similar money you can get the enthusiast class Corsair I mentioned.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817139020
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817139012

edit: just noticed the location, but relative prices should be similar

[jamie93]

haf 912

no, thats also a small case. he was looking for a larger one. althought the 912 is a very good small case, possibly the best out atm

op, if you go looking for a large case on a tight budget, you will sacrifice quality and performance. I recommend you looking into the SilverStone Raven RV02 or the haf x which is slightly bigger. both will offer far superior cooling than your current case. the haf x is geared toward gamers and has alot of lights etc whereas the the raven is more refined and professional.

[jamie93]

Whats your thoughts on the corsair GS600w PSU as an alternative to the Cooler master GX650W ?
As the corsair is pretty much just in budget although there is another brand called ThermalTake is that any good?

coolermaster and thermaltake psu arent good. stick with quality brands like corsair, antec and seasonic. a bad psu could fuk your components