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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. |
Hmm, sorry for the stupid question but is 450W enough for i5-3570 and GTX 660?
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Yes, a Capstone 450 is already more than sufficient for a 3570 and GTX 660. Most configurations don't use more than 300w under gaming.
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You could power twice that rig with a rosewill capstone 450
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What on earth LOL thanks for the tip 
Also can I get away with any cheaper cases? I honestly have no idea why these cases cost $100 or more. Same goes for a motherboard, right now my mobo is about $95 although I can see this being a standard price for motherboards.
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Okay, tax returns finally done and looking to build. Mostly looking to make sure I'm not missing any good deals.
Budget -- $850 after rebates
Resolution -- 1920x1080, but expecting my next upgrade will be to 2560x1440 in about a year so looking to plan ahead for that now.
What am I using it for? -- Primarily for gaming, but my girlfriend will use the machine as a Photoshop workstation (she's a part time professional photographer) and I do audio recording/editing with Pro Tools.
Upgrade Cycle -- Probably 2.5-3 years for a full overhaul. Now that I'm making real money and not in school, the 4.5 years I spent between upgrades last time will probably be a little less painful at 2.5-3 unless the rate of tech dramatically changes for desktops.
When? -- This week.
Overclocking -- Yes; probably to ~4.3Ghz for CPU and maybe a small overclock on the GPU. No plans to OC my RAM.
OS -- Have.
Xfire/SLI -- I'd like to be prepared for it because I expect that microstutter will eventually be solvable by better drivers.
Where am I buying parts? I have a Micro Center < 10 minutes from me, but plan to order when it saves me money.
Here's the build I'm looking at:
CPU -- i5-3570k $189.99 (Micro Center)
Mobo -- Asus P8Z77 $74.99 (Micro Center) ($15 MIR)
RAM -- Crucial Ballistix Sport 1600Mhz 2x4GB $41.99 (Micro Center)
SSD -- Samsung 840 250 GB $150.99 (Micro Center)
Heatsink -- Cooler Master Hyper 212 Evo $29.99 (Micro Center)
Video Card -- Sapphire Radeon HD7950 3GB -- $309.99 (Newegg) ($20 MIR) (Free Crysis 3/Bioshock Inf.)
Case -- Cooler Master HAF912 $49.99 (Newegg) ($10 MIR)
PSU -- Corsair Builder CX500 $59.99 ($20 MIR)
Total with tax, shipping -- $902.22, with $65 in MIR.
My GF and I each have an external HDD for scratch files and some media, so we don't need additional storage. I went for the 250 over the 120 so that I can have more than a couple games along with a 25% partition. It's weird, when I build for other people, I just collaborate with them and go with my gut, but I always have to double check for my own rig, the same way they do with me.
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The power supply is pretty meh and if you want to 'prepare' for SLI/CF that Video Card better be a blower.
EDIT: Also it might be worth it to get 16GB RAM (or another 2x4GB later) if Photoshop is used a lot.
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On February 11 2013 11:08 iTzSnypah wrote:
The power supply is pretty meh and if you want to 'prepare' for SLI/CF that Video Card better be a blower.
EDIT: Also it might be worth it to get 16GB RAM (or another 2x4GB later) if Photoshop is used a lot.
Yeah I'm not thrilled with the PSU, to be honest, but I'm blowing budget with a Rosewill Capstone and I'm not sure where else to make it up unless I go down to a 7870, which I feel less comfortable with at 2560x1440 when I make that jump. Not seeing any great deals right now other than the okay deal on this unit.
EDIT: Of course, any suggestions would be welcome 
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Honestly just skip buying the 212 Evo; you can purchase it at some point in the future. Installing aftermarket cooling after the system is in the case is not that hard when you have a case designed with that in mind. That's how I installed a Xigmatek Gaia (basically the same thing as a 212 evo, and side note: i recommend it over the 212's because it's much quieter)
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United Kingdom20326 Posts
I think the 212 evo has a notable performance lead though
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On February 11 2013 09:53 writer22816 wrote:What on earth LOL thanks for the tip Also can I get away with any cheaper cases? I honestly have no idea why these cases cost $100 or more. Same goes for a motherboard, right now my mobo is about $95 although I can see this being a standard price for motherboards.
Yes you can get away with a less expensive cases and motherboard. The more expensive cases generally include more fans, built with thicker metal, have better / more tool-less features, have rubber gourmets for the routing holes, and so on. The more expensive motherboards just has more ports, better VRM (not relevant for a non-overclocker), and some other features (not really relevant if you don't know what they are anyways).
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I'm gonna just bite the bullet with Rosewill Capstone, and chalk it up to just not getting one of my rebates back  I figured if I were building for someone else I'd just tell them to go with the peace of mind.
EDIT: Oh and free earbuds with the modular unit, score
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I was wondering if you guys could help me how much watts i need to build a custom desktop.
right now, i am thinking with these:
processor: i5-3570k ivy bridge
motherboard: asus P8 z77 V-pro
RAM: 8gb 1600 speed 2×4gb/stick or 16gb Patriot Viper 3 @ 1866
*** i probably will only need 8gb huh? can you help me decide which is more preferred
for now these are my options:
Kingwin 600watt
OCZ 600 watt
Thermal Take TR2 600 watt
Corsair CX500 watt
Corsair CX750 watt
Corsair GS 800 watt
much appreciation for everyone that helps :D
Thank You~!
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For gaming, you will only need 2x4gb @ 1600MHz. The ASUS P8Z77-V Pro is also a high-end board that would probably be a total waste of money for you.
Kingwin doesn't have any good 600w units.
OCZ has multiple 600w units, all of which are old and bad by today's standards.
Thermaltake TR2 is bad.
CX500 is shit compared to your motherboard choice. CX750 is overkill. GS is overkill.
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My old venerable 8800 gt has finally taken a dump on me and It is time to upgrade! Relevant systems specs are as follows
AMD Phenom II X4 965
4 GB ram
ASUS M4A79XTD EVO
SeaSonic M12II 620 Bronze 620W
Currently running windows xp pro and a monitor with a resolution of 1280x1024. At the time of purchase I will be upgrading to windows 7. I will also be buying a new monitor in the next few weeks when I get my tax refund (yay!). I plan on getting a monitor with a resolution of 1920x1080. I play all the current blizzard games. I have a separate PC for all of my work/productivity related duties. I would like a card capable of playing games at least at high settings at 1920x1080. Budget for new card is at maximum 150 but would like to spend less if possible. Thanks guys!
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A GTX 650 Ti for $130-$150. If you want to go lower then there's the Radeon HD7770 for ~$120.
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On February 11 2013 13:41 skyR wrote:
A GTX 650 Ti for $130-$150. If you want to go lower then there's the Radeon HD7770 for ~$120.
What type of performance hit am I looking at by going to the Radeon instead of the Nvidia?
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On February 11 2013 13:19 azngamer828 wrote:
I was wondering if you guys could help me how much watts i need to build a custom desktop.
right now, i am thinking with these:
processor: i5-3570k ivy bridge
motherboard: asus P8 z77 V-pro
RAM: 8gb 1600 speed 2×4gb/stick or 16gb Patriot Viper 3 @ 1866
*** i probably will only need 8gb huh? can you help me decide which is more preferred
for now these are my options:
Kingwin 600watt
OCZ 600 watt
Thermal Take TR2 600 watt
Corsair CX500 watt
Corsair CX750 watt
Corsair GS 800 watt
much appreciation for everyone that helps :D
Thank You~!
Where are you buying from? The list is atrocious so far, as is the list of powersupplies.
EDIT: And you've spent a lot of money on the ability to overclock your cpu but you don't even have a cooler. Are you even going to overclock?
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On February 11 2013 07:07 Myrmidon wrote:
At 27" 2560x1440, there are more choices.
I've been looking around newegg at the offerings, but nothing really seems to jump out [on reviews from anandtech, etc.] as the best one to get. Everything seems to be polarized between some combination of good color, latency, and viewing angles, but never all 3.
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On February 11 2013 14:01 Craton wrote:Show nested quote +On February 11 2013 07:07 Myrmidon wrote:
At 27" 2560x1440, there are more choices. I've been looking around newegg at the offerings, but nothing really seems to jump out [on reviews from anandtech, etc.] as the best one to get. Everything seems to be polarized between some combination of good color, latency, and viewing angles, but never all 3.
That's kind of the nature of the beast these days, though. Every company seems to have gotten a piece of the ITS puzzle exactly right, but always at the expense of something else.
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EPT
