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.
No; the stock cooling in the case plus your heatsink (either stock if you're not OCing, or Hyper 212 or something similar if you are) should be enough. If it's 95F in your house during the summer, you might consider another fan if your temps are getting too hot, but until then it's not necessary for a normal overclock.
Don't I need a CD reader for the computer?
If you need one. Are you installing Windows from a disc or a USB stick? Do you have games that are installed via CD?
If yes, DVD-RW drives are usually $15-17 at MC for the cheapest one (and there's no reason to get anything else).
The Eizo monitor suggested is listed at $400 are there better deals and should I wait for cheaper 2560x????? Is having a 1920 x 1080 monitor going to cap me a lot?
This is kind of something for you to decide. The Eizo monitor is one of the best 23" IPS monitors around right now; if you don't want to shell out $400 right now, you can get something like this for a lot less:
Are there any other software other than Windows that I need?
No; only other thing are driver CDs which are included with components.
Isn't there a sound card or something for audio?
The on-board audio on your motherboard is more than sufficient unless you have a high end 5.1 or 7.1 sound system, or you do sound recording (less input lag).
I don't understand why they can't just make CLC's with water. Just bombard them with radiation before you ship and BAM no bacteria problems for 99.99% of customers.
As long as you have a decent motherboard, no. You have a couple settings, basically you set load line calibration, maybe a couple of simple settings, and then you have only two variables for anything but an extreme overclock: Multiplier and Vcore
Ok thanks. Looking forward to building my budget sc2 pc. Hopefully you guys can help me a little to get the overclock. Since I am new to Ivy. I will post the specifications before I order. Thanks Cyro, MrCon and Myrmidon.
1680 x 1050, Intel Core i5 2500K, 4 GB DDR3-1600 and a NVIDIA GTX 560 Ti, custom graphics settings (mostly High) running Windows 7 64 bit with Aero disabled
Doesnt matter, framerates for all settings are pretty much identical under such stress if you have at at all relevant GPU.
I can tell you my system before (first gen i7 @4ghz, gtx580) got half as much FPS with the game maxed vs low at the start of the game (and i would expect a weaker gpu to have far more FPS difference) - but in the worst cases 1v1, both dropped to something like 20-25fps.
Hey guys, I'm just curious. Is 4GB still really all you need for memory? The OP still says that. Taking out the cost factor (memory is cheap as chips so why the hell NOT get 8GB?) will you notice a difference with 8GB over 4GB these days? Is it going to be noticable? Largely inconvenient? I'd love to hear some opinions.
On March 09 2013 04:31 Brettatron wrote: Hey guys, I'm just curious. Is 4GB still really all you need for memory? The OP still says that. Taking out the cost factor (memory is cheap as chips so why the hell NOT get 8GB?) will you notice a difference with 8GB over 4GB these days? Is it going to be noticable? Largely inconvenient? I'd love to hear some opinions.
Depends on what you use the computer for. Why dont you monitor your own RAM usage and see if you ever go over 4GB?
What GPU would you guys pair with an i5 2400 to run SC2 @ medium settings on a dual monitor setup, both at 1920x1080? I currently have a 550 ti supporting 1600x900 and 1440 x 900 monitors that works fantastic, but I'm not expert enough to know if upgrading the monitors will have that great of an impact on gameplay.
On March 09 2013 04:31 Brettatron wrote: Hey guys, I'm just curious. Is 4GB still really all you need for memory? The OP still says that. Taking out the cost factor (memory is cheap as chips so why the hell NOT get 8GB?) will you notice a difference with 8GB over 4GB these days? Is it going to be noticable? Largely inconvenient? I'd love to hear some opinions.
Depends on what you use the computer for. Why dont you monitor your own RAM usage and see if you ever go over 4GB?
Is there a program that will log memory usage I can use? I actually am curious to see, since the odd times I check around 2-3 GB.
perfmon can do it. It comes with Windows. You can create a user defined data collector set with % committed memory in it. It will run in the background on Windows until you stop it. After you stop it, the results show up under "reports".
Ok, continuing my post from a few pages ago, this is what I'm currently tinkering with, prices in Canadian, off of Newegg.ca
CORSAIR Enthusiast Series TX750 V2 750W - $110 Intel Core i5-3570K Ivy Bridge 3.4GHz (3.8GHz Turbo) - $227 Seagate Barracuda ST31000524AS 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" - $68 G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1866 - $60 MSI Z77A-G43 LGA 1155 Intel Z77 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard with UEFI BIOS - $129 SAPPHIRE 100355L Radeon HD 7850 2GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16 - $200 ASUS DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS Black SATA 24X DVD Burner - $20 Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-bit - $100
I added the graphics card even though I Wasn't planning on it for the free Tomb Raider and Bioshock, though I'm still on the fence about whether or not I'll buy a card. I have some questions about this build so far.
Can I get away with a 500W power supply? I would save potentially around $50. Is this an appropriate mobo? Why is this 2x4GB RAM $60 when others are more? Finally, I have NO CLUE what I'm doing with a case. I Don't want anything flashy, just functional. No lights, no side window, but hopefully decent USB ports front and back as well as audio port front. What do I have to keep in mind for this? What are some options? I've read that the graphics card listed above is large and that may affect what case would work.
EPT
