| Forum Index > Tech Support |
When using this resource, please read FragKrag's opening post. The Tech Support forum regulars have helped create countless of desktop systems without any compensation. The least you can do is provide all of the information required for them to help you properly. | ||
|
Jayde
Marshall Islands104 Posts
For instance ever since I learned what AA is like 5 years ago I'll say to myself "oh that person is/is not running AA". So I don't want to be too irritated once I build my computer  But then--an extra $400 versus mild irritation that I'm sure to overcome.......it is kind of obvious which way I should go. | ||
|
Erik.TheRed
United States1655 Posts
+ Show Spoiler + On May 26 2012 09:06 Erik.TheRed wrote: So I'm thinking about building a new PC within the next few months because my friend is offering me some cash for my current PC and I feel like it's time for an upgrade anyway (most of the components are about 2 years old or so). I'll list my current specs so that you guys know what I want to upgrade from. (My current setup can handle streaming some games but not at consistent 60fps and usually only at the lowest settings. I also get general FPS issues in many other games, even without streaming.) Intel i5 750 @2.67 GHz 8MB L3 Cache G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR3 SDRAM 1600 Radeon 5770 HD 1GB DDR5 motherboard is an MSI H55M-E33. Hardware Survey: What is your budget? Target range is $800-1000, maybe even a bit higher depending on what's available. Also I haven't actually bought/built a new PC totally from scratch in a long time, I've just been upgrading the parts to a 2004 Alienware Aurora system every 2-3 years or so and now all that is left from the original is the tower and DVD drives. But since my friend is going to buy my entire PC, I'll need a new tower/power supply/dvd drive as well. The only things I'm not selling are my hard drives, peripherals, and monitors. What is your resolution? 1920×1080 What are you using it for? Gaming, STREAMING (HD sc2 @ 60fps medium settings at least, some other games too like d3, tribes, dota 2 etc), adobe stuff What is your upgrade cycle? About 2 years but it depends on what deals/tech become available and how much money I make. When do you plan on building it? Probably within 3-6 weeks Do you plan on overclocking? Not really, at least not for a while. Do you need an Operating System? Nope, already have win 7 ultimate Do you plan to add a second GPU for SLI or Crossfire? Not unless it is a cost-effective way to solve my streaming needs Where are you buying your parts from? USA, so Newegg and TigerDirect most likely. Any advice is greatly appreciated, I haven't really kept up with desktop hardware news for a while so I'm not really sure what the best options for me are right now. One last thing I'd like some tips about are SSDs, right now I have a few 7200rpm SATA drives but depending on price and practicality I'd be willing to consider running my OS from an SSD or something. So I've been doing a bunch of research since I wrote that up, and narrowed down my options but I would still like some advice on my CPU and GPU selection. Here is the build I'm currently working with: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/8UVQ As for the CPU, I have no intentions on overclocking but I need enough power to be able to stream HD quality and consistently 60+ fps in most games played at 1920x1080 (doesn't have to be the highest graphics settings, medium-high in sc2/diablo3/dota2 is fine) I can't really decide if I'm better off going for the i7 3770 (about $320) the i7-2600k (about $300) , an i5 3550 (about $200), an i5-3570k (about $220) or an i5-2500k (also about $220). I've looked at the benchmarks and in gaming applications they all look the same so I guess it's a matter of how good hyper-threading is for streaming, and how much better the Ivy Bridges are for non-OC setups considering the costs. Right now it looks like the 3770 is the best choice since hyper-threading gives my build a bit more longevity, but I could be wrong about that. As for the GPU, I'm favoring the GTX 560 Ti since it looks like a nice upgrade from my radeon 5770 and it should run most games on high settings 1920x1080. I'm also thinking about the Radeon 6870 since it's about $50 cheaper and having ultra-super high graphics is not the most important thing for me (I'll always take 60+fps before a fancy graphics option). Then there's the GTX 560 that runs for about $160 and performs very similarly to the Ti so I'm a bit confused as to why there is a $50 cost difference and if that's something I really want to invest in. The mobo was a tossup between the ASUS sabertooth z77 and the ASUS maximus V Gene, but I'm leaning towards the Maximus since it's cheaper and doesn't seem to be lacking anything that I need. I'm wondering though if I could get away with a much cheaper board like http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128543 , it still has the PCI 3.0x16 option if I ever upgrade my video card but I'm afraid the product or bios won't be as reliable. and for the psu, I'm guessing I'll need at 600-650 watts for everything so http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151095 looks like the most reliable option. I also found a cheaper PSU with a bit more wattage, but I'm not sure how much I can trust it compared to the SeaSonic: http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/searchtools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=3276573&csid=_23 Any tips would be greatly appreciated! | ||
|
Nabutso
351 Posts
Your build will take maybe about 275 watts under maximum load (GPU and CPU at 100% each) so a good quality 400w or 450w unit is perfectly fine, like a cx430 or a neo eco (400 or 520). a 560ti is really only worth it if you can find it for under $200. I'd go for the 6870 instead. Hyperthreading will make a 20% difference or so in video encoding (streaming). The choice of a 3770 is a good one, if that 20% is worth the $100 for you. You do realise however, that you can just buy an aftermarket cooler for $30 and bump up a 2600k from 3.4ghz to 4.5ghz. edit: you can also save about $10 getting 1333mhz sticks instead of 1600mhz. | ||
|
Myrmidon
United States9452 Posts
GTX 560 or HD 6870 is fine. The motherboards you're looking at make no sense and are much too expensive for what you want to do, especially if you're not overclocking. Sabertooth / Gene / etc. are for people tweaking their computers all the time and running enthusiast overclocks and benches. Motherboards in the $100-120 range can overclock Sandy Bridge or Ivy Bridge to very good levels already. You're looking at systems under 300W draw, so I don't know why you're guessing at 600W power supplies? Ultra LSP sucks and Seasonic M12II 620W is overpriced. There aren't particularly that many good low-wattage power supplies at retail, so a good model in the 380-520W range is more appropriate. You won't need anything close to that much, since it doesn't seem like you'll ever want flagship graphics cards or multiple graphics cards. What's most appropriate can probably be determined once you figure out what you're going to do with the CPU and GPU. | ||
|
rogch
3 Posts
$900 less is better What is your resolution? 1920*1080 What are you using it for? SC2, Diablo 3, and Dota 2, dark souls What is your upgrade cycle? 5 years When do you plan on building it? ASAP Do you plan on overclocking? No Do you need an Operating System? yes Do you plan to add a second GPU for SLI or Crossfire? No. Where are you buying your parts from? newegg | ||
|
Myrmidon
United States9452 Posts
I'd really recommend upgrading the video card if desired before 5 years though. Core i5-3450 AsRock B75 Pro3 - $270 total http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.910000 Team 2 x 4GB 1600MHz DDR3 RAM - $41 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820313255 Gigabyte GTX 460 - $140 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125412 Western Digital Caviar Blue 500GB Samsung CD / DVD burner - $77 total http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.936994 Rosewill Capstone 450W Rosewill Future - $105 total http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.915283 Microsoft Windows 7 64-bit OEM - $100 (but with $20 promo gift card) http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116986 edit: personally I'd recommend adding an SSD to that, but some people don't care much about boot or application load times, or general system responsiveness. Intel 330 60GB is $80, and even good 120-128GB SSDs like Crucial M4 / Samsung 830 / Intel 330 are only around $125 these days, still under budget. | ||
|
rogch
3 Posts
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.926827 thanks a lot | ||
|
Xeqt
7 Posts
<$900 What is your resolution? 1920*1080 What are you using it for? SC2, Diablo 3, HoN, LoL, DotA 2, FPS and RPG, possible streaming, video edit and youtube stuff What is your upgrade cycle? 2-4 years When do you plan on building it? ASAP Do you plan on overclocking? If needed for the build Do you need an Operating System? No This is what I have so far: i5-3570k Sabertooth mobo that needs replacing The mobo is too expensive I know, I need to find a cheaper one. (Needs to have expansion slot for xbox capture card) Coolermaster 932 - can be changed 500gb 7200 rpmGSkll 2x4bg - can be changed Note: I want to have optical audio, willing to buy sound card if that + mobo is a better combo and cheaper/worth the price I also need to find some nice monitors, thinking 2x25" asus (NOT INCLUDED IN BUiLD PRICE) I have mouse, keyboard, and headset | ||
|
Erik.TheRed
United States1655 Posts
On May 27 2012 04:14 Myrmidon wrote: I recommend that you reconsider overclocking and definitely consider an i7 (no more longevity, just streaming slightly better), if you're not happy with a i5-750 now. Or reconsider your budget, expectations, or stream quality settings. Upgrading just Lynnfield to Sandy Bridge or Ivy Bridge is in the "definitely not worth it" range for most people, because the difference isn't that great. To have a more substantial difference streaming, you'll want an overclocked i7. GTX 560 or HD 6870 is fine. The motherboards you're looking at make no sense and are much too expensive for what you want to do, especially if you're not overclocking. Sabertooth / Gene / etc. are for people tweaking their computers all the time and running enthusiast overclocks and benches. Motherboards in the $100-120 range can overclock Sandy Bridge or Ivy Bridge to very good levels already. You're looking at systems under 300W draw, so I don't know why you're guessing at 600W power supplies? Ultra LSP sucks and Seasonic M12II 620W is overpriced. There aren't particularly that many good low-wattage power supplies at retail, so a good model in the 380-520W range is more appropriate. You won't need anything close to that much, since it doesn't seem like you'll ever want flagship graphics cards or multiple graphics cards. What's most appropriate can probably be determined once you figure out what you're going to do with the CPU and GPU. The more I think about it, the more I'm warming up to the idea of OCing my new build. I'm not a total scrub when it comes to tech so I'm pretty confident that I won't fuck things up horribly, and I would be willing to give it a try if it really makes my upgrade more cost efficient. That being said, I think I'll go for an i7 after all, the last thing I want is to get a new build and have some regrets and I'll just wind up upgrading not too long afterwards anyway. So I guess the best choice then is a 3700k? Or would a 2600k be worth considering as well since it's quite a bit cheaper... the only difference I can see is the power draw but maybe I'm missing something. Also for someone who is inexperienced like me, is there some general guide to safely OCing where I don't have to be tweaking with settings every day for the next year? And do you have any recommendations for decent aftermarket cooling? If I'm going to be doing some OCing on my CPU and it's nothing too advanced then you think something like this : http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128543 will be fine for me? I have no plans on doing SLI so I don't see why I'd ever need 2 PCI 3.0x16 slots. I honestly have no idea how much of a difference OCing an i7 3770k will make, in terms of processing power, temps, and also wattage. I guess the graphics choice between the 560 and 6870 is going to be personal preference, I don't need eyefinity or nvidia 3d or anything like that but I have had both good and bad experiences with ATI and Nvidia in the past so I really don't know what to pick. I used to have an 8800GT that overheated like a mofo but the drivers were fine, and more recently I had the radeon 5770 which was a cool card but had the most wonky and annoying driver issues (like cursor bugging out/getting distorted on 2 monitor setup, or cursor slowing down at certain points of the screen with catalyst enabled). Maybe these were just card-specific issues but I just have a bad impression of ATI drivers and catalyst in general. In the end though, I'll get whatever card is better for streaming/SC2, or whatever I can get a better deal of. Lastly do you think the fans on the coolermaster 912 will be sufficient or should I consider better cases? I really don't care too much about fancy lights or buttons, just want something practical and that I can carry around to a LAN every now and then. I appreciate the help, I guess it's about time I learn to OC since I'm such a picky PC-user anyway! Also if you have any good links/tips on getting started as a basic OCer then please send them my way! | ||
|
Shauni
4077 Posts
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/viAt8.jpg) Undervolted, overclocked. Only 500/700 RPM fans, and it still runs inaudible and cool in stresstests! Ha! (Except for that nasty WD on the edge, I was just transfering some files). By the way, HR-02 Macho was a hell to mount. Not only did I mount it wrong twice so my PCI-E lane was blocked by the heatsink, it also requires you to fasten the screw through that hole in the middle. What the fuck were they thinking. They didn't even pack a fitting tool for that operation, only a miniscule wrench, if you can even call it that. | ||
|
Sovano
United States1503 Posts
On May 26 2012 21:50 Sovano wrote: What is your budget? $500 What is your resolution? 1366x768 What are you using it for? Gaming; more specifically: SC2, Diablo 3, Guild Wars 2, and Dota 2. Some lesser strenuous games: Warcraft 3 and Perfect World International What is your upgrade cycle? 4 years When do you plan on building it? ASAP Do you plan on overclocking? No Do you need an Operating System? I'm guessing I can just download one, I don't want it to strain my budget. If not I'll just pay out with my own money (not from the $500 budget). Do you plan to add a second GPU for SLI or Crossfire? No. Where are you buying your parts from? I'm in the United States. Anywhere online is generally fine like newegg.com, microcenter (online or locally), or whatever else is cheaper. Edit: I thought I'd just add I already have a monitor. http://www.amazon.com/Acer-X183H-18-5-Inch-LCD-Monitor/dp/B001ER6CCI Does this build seem okay for the things I wanted in above? (In spoiler tags) http://pcpartpicker.com/p/8W81 | ||
Womwomwom
5930 Posts
| ||
|
Eisregen
Germany967 Posts
On May 27 2012 10:12 Sovano wrote: + Show Spoiler + On May 26 2012 21:50 Sovano wrote: What is your budget? $500 What is your resolution? 1366x768 What are you using it for? Gaming; more specifically: SC2, Diablo 3, Guild Wars 2, and Dota 2. Some lesser strenuous games: Warcraft 3 and Perfect World International What is your upgrade cycle? 4 years When do you plan on building it? ASAP Do you plan on overclocking? No Do you need an Operating System? I'm guessing I can just download one, I don't want it to strain my budget. If not I'll just pay out with my own money (not from the $500 budget). Do you plan to add a second GPU for SLI or Crossfire? No. Where are you buying your parts from? I'm in the United States. Anywhere online is generally fine like newegg.com, microcenter (online or locally), or whatever else is cheaper. Edit: I thought I'd just add I already have a monitor. http://www.amazon.com/Acer-X183H-18-5-Inch-LCD-Monitor/dp/B001ER6CCI Does this build seem okay for the things I wanted in above? (In spoiler tags) http://pcpartpicker.com/p/8Uvm Seems ok. Though I would consider investing into a better monitor soon? =) Your gpu will be bored ^^ 500W seem a bit overkill but I guess you will be having that PSU also for several years, so should be fine | ||
|
Sovano
United States1503 Posts
Current: http://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu_lookup.php?cpu=Intel Core i3-2100 @ 3.10GHz Old: http://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu_lookup.php?cpu=Intel Pentium G850 @ 2.90GHz And yeah I might upgrade my monitor later in the summer. | ||
|
Eisregen
Germany967 Posts
On May 27 2012 10:38 Sovano wrote: Sorry I shouldn't have posted that just yet. I was still making some final adjustments. I added a optical drive, forgot to. Is this processor a lot better than the previous one? Not really sure how to interpret the charts. Current: http://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu_lookup.php?cpu=Intel Core i3-2100 @ 3.10GHz Old: http://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu_lookup.php?cpu=Intel Pentium G850 @ 2.90GHz And yeah I might upgrade my monitor later in the summer. Not by a lot, but better yep http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/404?vs=289 | ||
|
JingleHell
United States11308 Posts
On May 27 2012 01:28 Jayde wrote: I understand that AA is smoothing angled lines and is done sort of by sampling the colors of surrounding pixels. It takes a significant amount of power to do at high resolutions. My 1920x1200 display is a 24 inch display so fairly average ppi for a monitor (as far as I know). I am not sure what AF is. My screen is not 120hz. The other thing I think of is that I don't want to turn around and upgrade my machine in 1 or 2 years. In other words--is it worth it at all to get 2 cards now and be a little on the 'overkill' side but then still be able to run games 3 years from now? But then--costs get cheaper as time goes on--so maybe it would be easier just to get a capable PSU now and then buy a new graphics card in 2014 or whenever I deem necessary. Thanks for you quick reply, by the way. Any more thoughts are welcome. SLI doesn't give you much extra longevity over a single card solution of similar power, it just gives you a lot of shit to mess around with. It's for tinkering, or for high end GPUs for benchmarking and e-peenery, or for multi-display gaming. People will tell you about microstuttering, but it's only noticeable at low FPS, so don't worry about that unless it's a new release driver trouble thing, but if you're having those problems, microstutters are the least of your fucking worries. Frankly, only you can decide if it's "worth it" to spend the money to completely max vs a reasonable max. The information I gave you is most of what you need to decide if you want to do it. I'm not the sort to tell you straight up not to do something I do, I just make sure you're informed first. Just bear in mind, cooling multi-GPU can get... cute. And it costs a lot more on PSU and motherboard. | ||
|
Erik.TheRed
United States1655 Posts
+ Show Spoiler + On May 27 2012 06:02 Erik.TheRed wrote: The more I think about it, the more I'm warming up to the idea of OCing my new build. I'm not a total scrub when it comes to tech so I'm pretty confident that I won't fuck things up horribly, and I would be willing to give it a try if it really makes my upgrade more cost efficient. That being said, I think I'll go for an i7 after all, the last thing I want is to get a new build and have some regrets and I'll just wind up upgrading not too long afterwards anyway. So I guess the best choice then is a 3700k? Or would a 2600k be worth considering as well since it's quite a bit cheaper... the only difference I can see is the power draw but maybe I'm missing something. Also for someone who is inexperienced like me, is there some general guide to safely OCing where I don't have to be tweaking with settings every day for the next year? And do you have any recommendations for decent aftermarket cooling? If I'm going to be doing some OCing on my CPU and it's nothing too advanced then you think something like this : http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128543 will be fine for me? I have no plans on doing SLI so I don't see why I'd ever need 2 PCI 3.0x16 slots. I honestly have no idea how much of a difference OCing an i7 3770k will make, in terms of processing power, temps, and also wattage. I guess the graphics choice between the 560 and 6870 is going to be personal preference, I don't need eyefinity or nvidia 3d or anything like that but I have had both good and bad experiences with ATI and Nvidia in the past so I really don't know what to pick. I used to have an 8800GT that overheated like a mofo but the drivers were fine, and more recently I had the radeon 5770 which was a cool card but had the most wonky and annoying driver issues (like cursor bugging out/getting distorted on 2 monitor setup, or cursor slowing down at certain points of the screen with catalyst enabled). Maybe these were just card-specific issues but I just have a bad impression of ATI drivers and catalyst in general. In the end though, I'll get whatever card is better for streaming/SC2, or whatever I can get a better deal of. Lastly do you think the fans on the coolermaster 912 will be sufficient or should I consider better cases? I really don't care too much about fancy lights or buttons, just want something practical and that I can carry around to a LAN every now and then. I appreciate the help, I guess it's about time I learn to OC since I'm such a picky PC-user anyway! Also if you have any good links/tips on getting started as a basic OCer then please send them my way! http://pcpartpicker.com/p/8WT3 So I've been doing some more research and this is the new build I'm working with. I'm happy with the CPU and GPU at this point, and the motherboard seems to be a good deal and gets the job done. I'm just a little confused/worried about the PSU. I plan on overclocking the i7 2600k and maybe trying to do the bios switch on the 6950 to make it a 6970 (still need to research that thing a bit more). I used a few PSU calcs and 600 watts seems to be enough but I'm not sure how much headroom I need to give myself since I plan on overclocking. | ||
|
Nabutso
351 Posts
On May 27 2012 15:20 Erik.TheRed wrote: Earlier post for context: + Show Spoiler + On May 27 2012 06:02 Erik.TheRed wrote: The more I think about it, the more I'm warming up to the idea of OCing my new build. I'm not a total scrub when it comes to tech so I'm pretty confident that I won't fuck things up horribly, and I would be willing to give it a try if it really makes my upgrade more cost efficient. That being said, I think I'll go for an i7 after all, the last thing I want is to get a new build and have some regrets and I'll just wind up upgrading not too long afterwards anyway. So I guess the best choice then is a 3700k? Or would a 2600k be worth considering as well since it's quite a bit cheaper... the only difference I can see is the power draw but maybe I'm missing something. Also for someone who is inexperienced like me, is there some general guide to safely OCing where I don't have to be tweaking with settings every day for the next year? And do you have any recommendations for decent aftermarket cooling? If I'm going to be doing some OCing on my CPU and it's nothing too advanced then you think something like this : http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128543 will be fine for me? I have no plans on doing SLI so I don't see why I'd ever need 2 PCI 3.0x16 slots. I honestly have no idea how much of a difference OCing an i7 3770k will make, in terms of processing power, temps, and also wattage. I guess the graphics choice between the 560 and 6870 is going to be personal preference, I don't need eyefinity or nvidia 3d or anything like that but I have had both good and bad experiences with ATI and Nvidia in the past so I really don't know what to pick. I used to have an 8800GT that overheated like a mofo but the drivers were fine, and more recently I had the radeon 5770 which was a cool card but had the most wonky and annoying driver issues (like cursor bugging out/getting distorted on 2 monitor setup, or cursor slowing down at certain points of the screen with catalyst enabled). Maybe these were just card-specific issues but I just have a bad impression of ATI drivers and catalyst in general. In the end though, I'll get whatever card is better for streaming/SC2, or whatever I can get a better deal of. Lastly do you think the fans on the coolermaster 912 will be sufficient or should I consider better cases? I really don't care too much about fancy lights or buttons, just want something practical and that I can carry around to a LAN every now and then. I appreciate the help, I guess it's about time I learn to OC since I'm such a picky PC-user anyway! Also if you have any good links/tips on getting started as a basic OCer then please send them my way! http://pcpartpicker.com/p/8WT3 So I've been doing some more research and this is the new build I'm working with. I'm happy with the CPU and GPU at this point, and the motherboard seems to be a good deal and gets the job done. I'm just a little confused/worried about the PSU. I plan on overclocking the i7 2600k and maybe trying to do the bios switch on the 6950 to make it a 6970 (still need to research that thing a bit more). I used a few PSU calcs and 600 watts seems to be enough but I'm not sure how much headroom I need to give myself since I plan on overclocking. You might use 325 watts or so at maximum load. Might. Grab a cx430, a neo eco 400c or a neo eco 520c, or a similar posted-many-times-before PSU in this thread. | ||
|
iTzSnypah
United States1738 Posts
On May 27 2012 15:20 Erik.TheRed wrote: Earlier post for context: + Show Spoiler + On May 27 2012 06:02 Erik.TheRed wrote: The more I think about it, the more I'm warming up to the idea of OCing my new build. I'm not a total scrub when it comes to tech so I'm pretty confident that I won't fuck things up horribly, and I would be willing to give it a try if it really makes my upgrade more cost efficient. That being said, I think I'll go for an i7 after all, the last thing I want is to get a new build and have some regrets and I'll just wind up upgrading not too long afterwards anyway. So I guess the best choice then is a 3700k? Or would a 2600k be worth considering as well since it's quite a bit cheaper... the only difference I can see is the power draw but maybe I'm missing something. Also for someone who is inexperienced like me, is there some general guide to safely OCing where I don't have to be tweaking with settings every day for the next year? And do you have any recommendations for decent aftermarket cooling? If I'm going to be doing some OCing on my CPU and it's nothing too advanced then you think something like this : http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128543 will be fine for me? I have no plans on doing SLI so I don't see why I'd ever need 2 PCI 3.0x16 slots. I honestly have no idea how much of a difference OCing an i7 3770k will make, in terms of processing power, temps, and also wattage. I guess the graphics choice between the 560 and 6870 is going to be personal preference, I don't need eyefinity or nvidia 3d or anything like that but I have had both good and bad experiences with ATI and Nvidia in the past so I really don't know what to pick. I used to have an 8800GT that overheated like a mofo but the drivers were fine, and more recently I had the radeon 5770 which was a cool card but had the most wonky and annoying driver issues (like cursor bugging out/getting distorted on 2 monitor setup, or cursor slowing down at certain points of the screen with catalyst enabled). Maybe these were just card-specific issues but I just have a bad impression of ATI drivers and catalyst in general. In the end though, I'll get whatever card is better for streaming/SC2, or whatever I can get a better deal of. Lastly do you think the fans on the coolermaster 912 will be sufficient or should I consider better cases? I really don't care too much about fancy lights or buttons, just want something practical and that I can carry around to a LAN every now and then. I appreciate the help, I guess it's about time I learn to OC since I'm such a picky PC-user anyway! Also if you have any good links/tips on getting started as a basic OCer then please send them my way! http://pcpartpicker.com/p/8WT3 So I've been doing some more research and this is the new build I'm working with. I'm happy with the CPU and GPU at this point, and the motherboard seems to be a good deal and gets the job done. I'm just a little confused/worried about the PSU. I plan on overclocking the i7 2600k and maybe trying to do the bios switch on the 6950 to make it a 6970 (still need to research that thing a bit more). I used a few PSU calcs and 600 watts seems to be enough but I'm not sure how much headroom I need to give myself since I plan on overclocking. I hate pcpartpicker as it doesn't include combo deals from newegg (where you can easily save a buttload of money). You don't need more than 450w PSU unless you plan to do some Liquid Nitrogen OC'ing. i7-2600K & Rosewill Capstone 450w 80+ gold $349.98 http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.917208 SAPPHIRE HD6950 & Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3-1600 1.5v $243.98 (your basically paying 199 for the gpu and 43 for the RAM) http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.927752 And so on... | ||
|
Stiluz
Norway688 Posts
| ||
| ||
StarCraft 2 StarCraft: Brood War Dota 2 Counter-Strike Super Smash Bros Other Games Grubby3884 ScreaM3098 hiko1699 FrodaN1640 Beastyqt1182 ceh9722 B2W.Neo559 elazer333 crisheroes239 Liquid`VortiX175 ArmadaUGS155 Livibee137 Trikslyr79 QueenE30 JuggernautJason18 Fuzer  1 |
|
Replay Cast
SOOP
SKillous vs Spirit
Tenacious Turtle Tussle
PiG Sty Festival
Serral vs TriGGeR
Cure vs SHIN
The PondCast
Replay Cast
PiG Sty Festival
Clem vs Bunny
Solar vs Zoun
Replay Cast
Korean StarCraft League
PiG Sty Festival
herO vs Rogue
ByuN vs SKillous
[ Show More ] |
|
|
EPT
