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Computer Build Resource Thread - Page 1460

Forum Index > Tech Support
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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.
Womwomwom
Profile Blog Joined September 2009
5930 Posts
Last Edited: 2013-04-20 03:51:08
April 20 2013 03:48 GMT
#29181
Haswell is only important if you care about power draw, which is the case for laptops. The integrated graphics aren't going to suck and power management is going to be better obviously, I believe they've moved the VRMs to on-die so power regulation can be better controlled.

Anyway, I wouldn't recommend a GF100 card (i.e. GTX470) unless its dirt cheap. They were truly awful outside of performance. Hot, loud, love sucking power. There's bound to be better legacy cards out there, unless AMD 6000 series cards still sell for a lot of cash.
Belial88
Profile Blog Joined November 2010
United States5217 Posts
April 20 2013 04:00 GMT
#29182
On April 20 2013 12:18 pRo9aMeR wrote:
I want to check my build with people who know this stuff well.^^ Make sure everything goes together well. I would appreciate ANY comments you have about any of the parts or the build as a whole. I know the basics of putting a computer together but not enough to be a confident shopper. Also, this will be my first time to actually build the computer with all the parts. Any tips regarding that would be helpful as well!

Case
$65 - ZALMAN ZM-Z9 U3 Black Steel / Plastic ATX Mid Tower Computer Case

Monitor
$130 - Acer G236HLBbd Black 23" 5ms Widescreen LED Monitor

Video Card
$130 - GIGABYTE GV-N650OC-2GI GeForce GTX 650 2GB 128-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16 HDCP Ready Video Card

Power Supply
$80 - CORSAIR CX600M 600W ATX12V v2.3 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply
**I've heard 500W is enough for my current setup but I'm thinking of adding a second video card in the future so I think it's ok.

Storage
$250 - SAMSUNG 840 Pro Series MZ-7PD256BW 2.5" 256GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)

COMBO $350 - CPU, MOBO, and RAM
($220) Intel Core i5-3570K Ivy Bridge 3.4GHz (3.8GHz Turbo) LGA 1155 77W Quad-Core Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics 4000 BX80637I53570K
**I have no idea how to overclock this, but it's supposed to be overclocked because it's the "K" series, right?
($110) ASRock Z77 Extreme4 LGA 1155 Intel Z77 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
($60) CORSAIR XMS 8GB 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model CMX8GX3M1A1600C11
**Just one stick is OK?


I will be buying this ASAP from Newegg.

My budget is around $1000 USD and this build is about that much. I'm hoping this computer can last for the next 5 years (what can I expect to have to upgrade within those 5 years?).

I'm using this for mainly SC2 and watching videos/movies. I want to play at max settings smoothly while also browsing/internet radio/youtube videos.

I already have a DVD drive, a 1TB external HDD, keyboard, and mouse.

Thanks in advance!^^
You can PM me if you want^^


650 sucks, overpriced. gtx 460, 7770, gtx 470 are better (both in performance, and cheaper!).

cx600m is a terrible power supply lol. it's only semi-modular, it's not full modular, so you'll be using every single cable anyways. And unlike a non-modular, you dont have that svelt look of all the cables bundled together. You won't be able to sleeve the main or cpu cables because they are hardwired, so it's none of the benefits of modular while all the negatives of it. Not to mention the cx600 is a very low quality CWT power supply, I've had 2 of them blow out on me. The CX430 is a much better buy in the sense that it's extremely low priced, enough to make up for it's shortcomings, and that corsair has awesome support so even if it blows out you get a free replacement very easily.

And you might like the fact that the cx430-m is the same $29 at the non-modular, so theres your semi-modular power supply. But the cx600 is overpriced for it's low quality-ness. Any 400w quality psu will be overkill for any modern single GPU intel system except the most highest end ones, even with extreme overclocks. Quality > Quantity. If you want to spend money though, the rosewill capstone series is way more quality, the 450w capstone will be much more capable than the cx600.

anyone telling you 500w is enough for your setup is an idiot. 300w is overkill for that setup, let alone 500w. You need to stay away from tomshardware.

samsung 840pro is a great ssd, but the 830 is a lot cheaper and you won't notice the performance gain of the 840pro unless you really need fast storage for a particular reason... just go with 830 in raid! and any particular reason you are going for 256 gb? I haven't even used more than 64gb in 5 years on my streaming and gaming rig, a 128gb is enough for most people.

You could go with a RAID setup of 830 128gbs for $85x2, and that'll be both cheaper AND faster than an 840pro! Heyo!

Overclocking ivy is very simple and easy, here's best guide, written by one of the few people who know what they are talking about out there:
http://forums.tweaktown.com/gigabyte/48359-ivy-bridge-overclocking-guide-extreme-ln2-section-guide-included.html

Basically ivy is guaranteed to overclock to at least 4.4 to 5.1ghz. Luck and cooling comes into play to go much further than 4.6ghz. 50% of ivies can only do 4.5, 4.6ghz on a reasonable voltage, ie they are binned poorly, so dont expect 5ghz out the gate. It took my 4th ivy bridge to do 5ghz and my 5ghz chip requires a relatively high amount of voltage for it.

The extreme4 is a terrible motherboard, just read the last few pages. Z77X-UD3H is a million times better, the Z77-D3H and Z77X-D3H are cheaper and good enough (and still a million times better than the extreme4).

One stick is not okay, you always want to go with 2 or 4 sticks of RAM for dual channel (basically, instead of reading one big block of data from one stick, it'll read 2 small blocks of data from 2 or 4 sticks simultaneously at a faster rate). You can get a single 4gb stick and buy a 2nd one later though, for gaming you'll never use more than 4gb of ram (you only really need 8gb of ram if you go dual monitor and pull chrome up with a bunch of tabs on the second monitor while gaming).

If you are buying from newegg, well....

RAM: wintec 2x4 1600 CL9 $51 after coupon code 10% off
http://promotions.newegg.com/neemail/latest/index-landing.aspx?cm_sp=emailsub-_-homepage-_-promo
http://www.overclock.net/t/96415/post-your-rate-my-cables-here/25500_100

cx430m $29ar
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=17-139-049&Tpk=17-139-049

zalman zm-t1 $24 AR if you want to go cheap
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811235042

NZXT Source 210 $39, available in white and black same price
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811146076

gigabyte z77x-d3h
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128546


7790 for $124AR, not a bad deal. certainly better than 650ti
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121642

phanteks PH-TC12DX $49 not a great deal but not the worst, but if you insist on newegg only and refuse to be a smart shopper and buy things at the best places...
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&DEPA=0&Order=BESTMATCH&N=100006648&isNodeId=1&Description=Phanteks PH-TC12DX&x=-937&y=-112&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction&cm_mmc=AFC-C8Junction-_-na-_-na-_-na&cm_sp=&AID=10446076&PID=6146846&SID=m6if7w196rlw



How to build a $500 i7-3770K Ultimate Computer:http://www.teamliquid.net/blogs/viewblog.php?topic_id=392709 ******** 100% Safe Razorless Delid Method! http://www.overclock.net/t/1376206/how-to-delid-your-ivy-bridge-cpu-with-out-a-razor-blade/0_100
Belial88
Profile Blog Joined November 2010
United States5217 Posts
Last Edited: 2013-04-20 04:08:20
April 20 2013 04:06 GMT
#29183
Anyway, I wouldn't recommend a GF100 card (i.e. GTX470) unless its dirt cheap. They were truly awful outside of performance. Hot, loud, love sucking power. There's bound to be better legacy cards out there, unless AMD 6000 series cards still sell for a lot of cash.


AMD 6000 cards have doubled in price in the last month because of cryptocurrency mining. And performance and price is what matters, and GF100 GPUs are dirt cheap, especially with AMD cards of both new and old gen dramatically increasing in price due to the mining craze, making older gen nvidia like gf100 the best for mid-range (while newer gen nvidia dont compete to AMD). Hot and loud is solely dependent on the heatsink used, something that can be easily fixed with aftermarket thermal paste if it's really a problem, and it'd only be a problem to someone who is so anal about case temps because they are doing extreme overclocks, and as for sucking power you aren't at 100% load more than 10% of the day even in a big gaming day, you are talking about a less than a lightbulb of difference since most of the day you are asleep/working/etc, not 100% stressing the GPU out.

If you do compute workloads or bitcoin mining, then of course, it matters, but not for gaming. If there's better anything cards for the money, I'd love to hear. The 7770/7790 come close but no cigar. Of course the best option is a 7950 but not everyone can afford it or justify $250+ on a gpu. You've said yourself how bad the 650ti is, but with new gen cards there isn't much better price/performance than a 650, maybe 650ti or 7770 but they aren't that great.

How to build a $500 i7-3770K Ultimate Computer:http://www.teamliquid.net/blogs/viewblog.php?topic_id=392709 ******** 100% Safe Razorless Delid Method! http://www.overclock.net/t/1376206/how-to-delid-your-ivy-bridge-cpu-with-out-a-razor-blade/0_100
pRo9aMeR
Profile Blog Joined September 2008
595 Posts
April 20 2013 04:27 GMT
#29184
On April 20 2013 13:00 Belial88 wrote:

650 sucks, overpriced. gtx 460, 7770, gtx 470 are better (both in performance, and cheaper!).

cx600m is a terrible power supply lol. it's only semi-modular, it's not full modular, so you'll be using every single cable anyways. And unlike a non-modular, you dont have that svelt look of all the cables bundled together. You won't be able to sleeve the main or cpu cables because they are hardwired, so it's none of the benefits of modular while all the negatives of it. Not to mention the cx600 is a very low quality CWT power supply, I've had 2 of them blow out on me. The CX430 is a much better buy in the sense that it's extremely low priced, enough to make up for it's shortcomings, and that corsair has awesome support so even if it blows out you get a free replacement very easily.

And you might like the fact that the cx430-m is the same $29 at the non-modular, so theres your semi-modular power supply. But the cx600 is overpriced for it's low quality-ness. Any 400w quality psu will be overkill for any modern single GPU intel system except the most highest end ones, even with extreme overclocks. Quality > Quantity. If you want to spend money though, the rosewill capstone series is way more quality, the 450w capstone will be much more capable than the cx600.

anyone telling you 500w is enough for your setup is an idiot. 300w is overkill for that setup, let alone 500w. You need to stay away from tomshardware.

samsung 840pro is a great ssd, but the 830 is a lot cheaper and you won't notice the performance gain of the 840pro unless you really need fast storage for a particular reason... just go with 830 in raid! and any particular reason you are going for 256 gb? I haven't even used more than 64gb in 5 years on my streaming and gaming rig, a 128gb is enough for most people.

You could go with a RAID setup of 830 128gbs for $85x2, and that'll be both cheaper AND faster than an 840pro! Heyo!

Overclocking ivy is very simple and easy, here's best guide, written by one of the few people who know what they are talking about out there:
http://forums.tweaktown.com/gigabyte/48359-ivy-bridge-overclocking-guide-extreme-ln2-section-guide-included.html

Basically ivy is guaranteed to overclock to at least 4.4 to 5.1ghz. Luck and cooling comes into play to go much further than 4.6ghz. 50% of ivies can only do 4.5, 4.6ghz on a reasonable voltage, ie they are binned poorly, so dont expect 5ghz out the gate. It took my 4th ivy bridge to do 5ghz and my 5ghz chip requires a relatively high amount of voltage for it.

The extreme4 is a terrible motherboard, just read the last few pages. Z77X-UD3H is a million times better, the Z77-D3H and Z77X-D3H are cheaper and good enough (and still a million times better than the extreme4).

One stick is not okay, you always want to go with 2 or 4 sticks of RAM for dual channel (basically, instead of reading one big block of data from one stick, it'll read 2 small blocks of data from 2 or 4 sticks simultaneously at a faster rate). You can get a single 4gb stick and buy a 2nd one later though, for gaming you'll never use more than 4gb of ram (you only really need 8gb of ram if you go dual monitor and pull chrome up with a bunch of tabs on the second monitor while gaming).

If you are buying from newegg, well....

RAM: wintec 2x4 1600 CL9 $51 after coupon code 10% off
http://promotions.newegg.com/neemail/latest/index-landing.aspx?cm_sp=emailsub-_-homepage-_-promo
http://www.overclock.net/t/96415/post-your-rate-my-cables-here/25500_100

cx430m $29ar
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=17-139-049&Tpk=17-139-049

zalman zm-t1 $24 AR if you want to go cheap
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811235042

NZXT Source 210 $39, available in white and black same price
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811146076

gigabyte z77x-d3h
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128546


7790 for $124AR, not a bad deal. certainly better than 650ti
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121642

phanteks PH-TC12DX $49 not a great deal but not the worst, but if you insist on newegg only and refuse to be a smart shopper and buy things at the best places...



I've been scanning your blog, you know quite well what you are talking about!
I don't insist on newegg only, but I am definitely not a smart shopper when it comes to most things. As this is my first time buying the parts and putting it together, I would like to do the best job possible!

I will heed your advice regarding the RAM and PSU.

I am not familiar with RAID setups I went with 256GB for no particular reason, I just figured more is better. What would you suggest?

As for the MOBO, this is the area I know least about. All I basically know is where most of the basic parts connect.

As for the case, I have a special reason for getting the specific case I chose

Now let me see what changes I can make with regards to your advice.

If you want, so as not to clutter up the thread, we can discuss this through PMs or another medium.
In training...let's play, gg! d^..^b
Belial88
Profile Blog Joined November 2010
United States5217 Posts
Last Edited: 2013-04-20 05:01:19
April 20 2013 05:00 GMT
#29185
Are you in korea? do you live near microcenter? a bit confused, how can you order on newegg if you are in korea?
How to build a $500 i7-3770K Ultimate Computer:http://www.teamliquid.net/blogs/viewblog.php?topic_id=392709 ******** 100% Safe Razorless Delid Method! http://www.overclock.net/t/1376206/how-to-delid-your-ivy-bridge-cpu-with-out-a-razor-blade/0_100
Womwomwom
Profile Blog Joined September 2009
5930 Posts
Last Edited: 2013-04-20 05:18:56
April 20 2013 05:09 GMT
#29186
On April 20 2013 13:06 Belial88 wrote:
AMD 6000 cards have doubled in price in the last month because of cryptocurrency mining. And performance and price is what matters, and GF100 GPUs are dirt cheap, especially with AMD cards of both new and old gen dramatically increasing in price due to the mining craze, making older gen nvidia like gf100 the best for mid-range (while newer gen nvidia dont compete to AMD). Hot and loud is solely dependent on the heatsink used, something that can be easily fixed with aftermarket thermal paste if it's really a problem, and it'd only be a problem to someone who is so anal about case temps because they are doing extreme overclocks, and as for sucking power you aren't at 100% load more than 10% of the day even in a big gaming day, you are talking about a less than a lightbulb of difference since most of the day you are asleep/working/etc, not 100% stressing the GPU out.


The point is that GF100 cards are shit out of the box. Compared to AMD's options at the time and later NV options, they're almost universally louder. Heat and power draw is less of a problem but they're factors that influence how hard the GPU has to cool itself. Aftermarket thermal paste won't solve its design flaws though I'm not sure why you'd even suggest that solution in the first place.

I'd argue that price and performance is not the only thing that matters but obviously there's no point arguing about this because I know where you stand on this matter. But even then, a lot of enthusiasts don't even recommend that series of cards. Most GTX470s are not remotely close to being quiet, especially if you get a reference cooler version (90 degree load temps? pttf you better like that because that's what you're getting). That thing during load is louder than crossfired HD5850s. Its unacceptable for most people, its why the GTX460 was basically the only recommended NV card at the time.
pRo9aMeR
Profile Blog Joined September 2008
595 Posts
Last Edited: 2013-04-20 05:13:24
April 20 2013 05:12 GMT
#29187
Since I've replaced the RAM and MOBO, I can't get the CPU/RAM/MOBO combo deal. So, I replaced the RAM and MOBO like you suggested, and kept the same CPU.

As for the video card, I've heard that only NVidia is good for sc2...or that radeon is bad...something like that, I can't remember exactly.

Also, is there any part of my build that I could tone down a bit to save money without compromising performance in starcraft max settings?

I actually just moved back to the states from Korea a few weeks ago.
In training...let's play, gg! d^..^b
Belial88
Profile Blog Joined November 2010
United States5217 Posts
April 20 2013 05:38 GMT
#29188
On April 20 2013 14:09 Womwomwom wrote:
Show nested quote +
On April 20 2013 13:06 Belial88 wrote:
AMD 6000 cards have doubled in price in the last month because of cryptocurrency mining. And performance and price is what matters, and GF100 GPUs are dirt cheap, especially with AMD cards of both new and old gen dramatically increasing in price due to the mining craze, making older gen nvidia like gf100 the best for mid-range (while newer gen nvidia dont compete to AMD). Hot and loud is solely dependent on the heatsink used, something that can be easily fixed with aftermarket thermal paste if it's really a problem, and it'd only be a problem to someone who is so anal about case temps because they are doing extreme overclocks, and as for sucking power you aren't at 100% load more than 10% of the day even in a big gaming day, you are talking about a less than a lightbulb of difference since most of the day you are asleep/working/etc, not 100% stressing the GPU out.


The point is that GF100 cards are shit out of the box. Compared to AMD's options at the time and later NV options, they're almost universally louder. Heat and power draw is less of a problem but they're factors that influence how hard the GPU has to cool itself. Aftermarket thermal paste won't solve its design flaws though I'm not sure why you'd even suggest that solution in the first place.

I'd argue that price and performance is not the only thing that matters but obviously there's no point arguing about this because I know where you stand on this matter. But even then, a lot of enthusiasts don't even recommend that series of cards. Most GTX470s are not remotely close to being quiet, especially if you get a reference cooler version (90 degree load temps? pttf you better like that because that's what you're getting). That thing during load is louder than crossfired HD5850s. Its unacceptable for most people, its why the GTX460 was basically the only recommended NV card at the time.


I do think the other options are important but when someone is clearly restricted in budget and so price conscious as to consdier a 650, i think it's worth considering a gf100 card. I just dont think the 7850 is a very good card:

http://www.overclock.net/t/1253829/gtx-480-vs-7850/0_100
http://www.overclock.net/t/1251060/gtx480-vs-hd7850/0_100

There's an interesting discussion here on 480 vs 7850, and clearly there are drawbacks to both so it's not a clear one is better than the other. I generally don't see reference versions being particularly cheaper than non-reference on older gen cards, so no reason to go ref model. 90 degree load temps aren't a huge problem if the gpu can withstand it, the AMD card would hit 90*C too if you tried to put it at a similar level of performance with an overclock.

Sound is more of a fan issue (reason i said tim replacement was to drop temps, drop temps and you can lower fan speed for same level of cooling).

Either way if you have only ~$150 to spend on a GPU you are going to have to make sacrifices. A 7950 or even 7870 would really be the best choice if you need a powerful, modern GPU.
How to build a $500 i7-3770K Ultimate Computer:http://www.teamliquid.net/blogs/viewblog.php?topic_id=392709 ******** 100% Safe Razorless Delid Method! http://www.overclock.net/t/1376206/how-to-delid-your-ivy-bridge-cpu-with-out-a-razor-blade/0_100
Craton
Profile Blog Joined December 2009
United States17272 Posts
April 20 2013 05:39 GMT
#29189
It doesn't really matter which you get.

Nvidia's dual card setup generally has better frame stuttering than AMD. AMD cards (at least the high end cards I researched during my build) draw more power than those of Nvidia, but I don't know how that applies to the mid or low range.

Performance-wise on a single card for SC2 you aren't going to see a difference between evenly matched cards of either brand.
twitch.tv/cratonz
Belial88
Profile Blog Joined November 2010
United States5217 Posts
April 20 2013 05:41 GMT
#29190
On April 20 2013 14:12 pRo9aMeR wrote:
Since I've replaced the RAM and MOBO, I can't get the CPU/RAM/MOBO combo deal. So, I replaced the RAM and MOBO like you suggested, and kept the same CPU.

As for the video card, I've heard that only NVidia is good for sc2...or that radeon is bad...something like that, I can't remember exactly.

Also, is there any part of my build that I could tone down a bit to save money without compromising performance in starcraft max settings?

I actually just moved back to the states from Korea a few weeks ago.


Yes, the newegg list I made to you was really quite trimmed down. If you only play sc2 then you could get a gtx 460/7770 for maxed settings or a 4870/4850 for much, much less to get by on medium or high. cx430, pro4 from microcenter on a combo deal, maybe get a single 4gb stick of ram for time being and buy another in the future
How to build a $500 i7-3770K Ultimate Computer:http://www.teamliquid.net/blogs/viewblog.php?topic_id=392709 ******** 100% Safe Razorless Delid Method! http://www.overclock.net/t/1376206/how-to-delid-your-ivy-bridge-cpu-with-out-a-razor-blade/0_100
Womwomwom
Profile Blog Joined September 2009
5930 Posts
Last Edited: 2013-04-20 07:01:19
April 20 2013 06:53 GMT
#29191
On April 20 2013 14:38 Belial88 wrote:
Show nested quote +
On April 20 2013 14:09 Womwomwom wrote:
On April 20 2013 13:06 Belial88 wrote:
AMD 6000 cards have doubled in price in the last month because of cryptocurrency mining. And performance and price is what matters, and GF100 GPUs are dirt cheap, especially with AMD cards of both new and old gen dramatically increasing in price due to the mining craze, making older gen nvidia like gf100 the best for mid-range (while newer gen nvidia dont compete to AMD). Hot and loud is solely dependent on the heatsink used, something that can be easily fixed with aftermarket thermal paste if it's really a problem, and it'd only be a problem to someone who is so anal about case temps because they are doing extreme overclocks, and as for sucking power you aren't at 100% load more than 10% of the day even in a big gaming day, you are talking about a less than a lightbulb of difference since most of the day you are asleep/working/etc, not 100% stressing the GPU out.


The point is that GF100 cards are shit out of the box. Compared to AMD's options at the time and later NV options, they're almost universally louder. Heat and power draw is less of a problem but they're factors that influence how hard the GPU has to cool itself. Aftermarket thermal paste won't solve its design flaws though I'm not sure why you'd even suggest that solution in the first place.

I'd argue that price and performance is not the only thing that matters but obviously there's no point arguing about this because I know where you stand on this matter. But even then, a lot of enthusiasts don't even recommend that series of cards. Most GTX470s are not remotely close to being quiet, especially if you get a reference cooler version (90 degree load temps? pttf you better like that because that's what you're getting). That thing during load is louder than crossfired HD5850s. Its unacceptable for most people, its why the GTX460 was basically the only recommended NV card at the time.

Sound is more of a fan issue (reason i said tim replacement was to drop temps, drop temps and you can lower fan speed for same level of cooling).

Either way if you have only ~$150 to spend on a GPU you are going to have to make sacrifices. A 7950 or even 7870 would really be the best choice if you need a powerful, modern GPU.


Are we reading the same threads? Those threads have everyone supporting the HD7850 for the reasons I mentioned. Its stupidly hot, its performance is nothing special these days, and its very loud. Do you honestly thing replacing the TIM will make it significantly quieter? No, its a very hot chip with inadequate cooling most of the time. Aftermarket cooling isn't free you know and for GPUs, the installation of them can be quite daunting.

If you only have ~$150, that's within HD7850 range. The cheapest is around $160 new and that comes with free Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon, Bioshock Infinite & Tomb Raider. If you want to cut costs, sell those games since two of them are still basically $60 games. If you were going to get them, you're saving quite a bit of cash anyway. If you're going with a mid-performance card, then you can't complain about the sort of acceptable performance these cards will provide you with. Its not like the HD7850 is a terrible card, its perfectly adequate in the grand scheme of things.
Belial88
Profile Blog Joined November 2010
United States5217 Posts
April 20 2013 07:57 GMT
#29192
People in the threads clearly indicate the 480 outperforms the 7850. It's also definitely split on which is better. I'm of the opinion that while the 7850 is definitely the better choice if you got the budget, I feel if you got the budget for a 7850, then it's a poor choice to get instead of just saving up for a 7950 instead. When someone is asking about a 650, I think that sort of swings the balance towards the 460/470/480 instead of 7850/7870/7950. I hope that makes sense.

The 7850 that's currently going for like 160 with a few games that could be sold is definitely a good deal right now though, yea that might be better than a 470/480.



How to build a $500 i7-3770K Ultimate Computer:http://www.teamliquid.net/blogs/viewblog.php?topic_id=392709 ******** 100% Safe Razorless Delid Method! http://www.overclock.net/t/1376206/how-to-delid-your-ivy-bridge-cpu-with-out-a-razor-blade/0_100
pRo9aMeR
Profile Blog Joined September 2008
595 Posts
April 20 2013 08:03 GMT
#29193
I'm really confused about the "leveling/scaling" of video cards. I was going to get the GTX 660 and you recommend the GTX 460. Will the 460 really run max settings smoothly? If so, why did I think the 660 was what I needed? Are there specific cards to avoid? Are all the 600 series cards not worth it? What about the 500 series?
In training...let's play, gg! d^..^b
Rollin
Profile Joined March 2011
Australia1552 Posts
April 20 2013 08:30 GMT
#29194
On April 20 2013 17:03 pRo9aMeR wrote:
I'm really confused about the "leveling/scaling" of video cards. I was going to get the GTX 660 and you recommend the GTX 460. Will the 460 really run max settings smoothly? If so, why did I think the 660 was what I needed? Are there specific cards to avoid? Are all the 600 series cards not worth it? What about the 500 series?

The 660 is stronger, but the 460 is enough for sc2 that your cpu will bottleneck you. If you're playing other games the 660 would be a good upgrade.

The 560 is basically the same as the 460, but with higher clockspeeds and higher prices (you can set the same clocks on the 460). The 660/650ti BOOST is fine though, it honestly doesn't matter, the 600 series is priced fine relative to older generations.
Throw off those chains of reason, and your prison disappears. | Check your posting frequency timeline: http://www.teamliquid.net/mytlnet/post_activity_img.php
Cyro
Profile Blog Joined June 2011
United Kingdom20322 Posts
Last Edited: 2013-04-20 09:17:27
April 20 2013 09:17 GMT
#29195
The 660 is stronger, but the 460 is enough for sc2 that your cpu will bottleneck you


The 260 is enough to have well over 100fps with the game maxed on 1920x1080 (ive seen ~160) and have identical minimum fps on minimum and max settings in an endgame battle, with GPU load as low as 20-50% depending on how stressful the battle is (more units = lower framerate and gpu load)

And it does not compare to either of those cards

SC2 does not need a strong GPU at all unless your early to midgame FPS is more important to you than minimum FPS and you are running 2560x1440, that's like the only place it could be appropriate to spend over $100 on a GPU for sc2


And Belial, i was refering more to potentials, you know there's hundreds or thousands of ivies out there that do 5ghz on 1.2-1.3v (and this seems to point towards better manufacturing processes, not completely random golden batches), yet can tolerate 1.45+, you know what you can do with those kinds of CPU's

Everything is so uncertain right now, it's 6 weeks from launch we know nothing about the processors aside from some basic features (100, 125 or 166mhz base clock +- 5-7%, same stock speeds as ivy, ~8% IPC lead, "i know but i cant tell you yet" about Intel's IHS solution for haswell from anandtech dude

We could have haswell launch, it could run the same temps as ivy bridge does, and essentially be the same, aside from the 8% higher IPC, it could run worse somehow (i doubt this..) but there's also the potential for 5ghz on 1.2-1.3v to become common (like it is on the crazy new batch ivies) and for delidding to be unneccesary, and if (if) that happens, it will be a pretty groundbreaking step forward. I mean we have Thom's CPU, with temperatures literally dipping below the 60's, 13 hours into prime95 custom blend etcetcetc @1.285v 5ghz on nothing but a couple of stock case fans and a probably not-perfectly-mounted stock hr-02 macho, and more like it popping up every day - and this is WITHOUT delidding. If mainstream Haswell behaves anything remotely close to like this, it will be AMAZING.

We really dont know anything at all though, i never really sat through a release like this that i was very interested in beforehand and i am suprised how little information there is..
"oh my god my overclock... I got a single WHEA error on the 23rd hour, 9 minutes" -Belial88
Belial88
Profile Blog Joined November 2010
United States5217 Posts
Last Edited: 2013-04-20 09:22:04
April 20 2013 09:19 GMT
#29196

I'm really confused about the "leveling/scaling" of video cards. I was going to get the GTX 660 and you recommend the GTX 460. Will the 460 really run max settings smoothly? If so, why did I think the 660 was what I needed? Are there specific cards to avoid? Are all the 600 series cards not worth it? What about the 500 series?


660TI (the normal 660 sucks more than the 660ti) is twice as strong as the 460, while the 560 is the exact same strength as the 460 because it's literally the exact same card.

If this is for an sc2 build, then you dont need the power of a 660ti, a 460 or 7770 is more than powerful enough to easily max sc2 with aa. If this is for crysis, the 460 wont be enough (it'll be okay and look pretty but it definitely wont max it) and you'll need like a 7950, 660ti.

It's all about price, but right now the 660TI (because the plain 660 is priced horribly) is second fiddle to the 7950, which is a really good price to performance value, even at $250+. The 5xx series of cards is nothing special, in general. But again, it's all about prices. Just generally, the prices suck. There are certain cases where the 660ti > 7950, but not nearly as often as the 7950 > 660TI.
How to build a $500 i7-3770K Ultimate Computer:http://www.teamliquid.net/blogs/viewblog.php?topic_id=392709 ******** 100% Safe Razorless Delid Method! http://www.overclock.net/t/1376206/how-to-delid-your-ivy-bridge-cpu-with-out-a-razor-blade/0_100
Cyro
Profile Blog Joined June 2011
United Kingdom20322 Posts
April 20 2013 09:25 GMT
#29197
max sc2 with aa


The antialiasing part not really relevant, because i did not find an outside method to run antialiasing in starcraft 2 well, and the ingame checkbox is a post-processing method that is close to free on performance, but blurs the fuck out of everything (textures, text) so it's not worth using if you are looking for good graphics anyway
"oh my god my overclock... I got a single WHEA error on the 23rd hour, 9 minutes" -Belial88
Shikyo
Profile Blog Joined June 2008
Finland33997 Posts
April 20 2013 10:03 GMT
#29198
First of all, 480 isn't really more powerful than 7850 for most games. Secondly, you cannot easily buy it new at a decent price at least over here so I'm not sure where you're getting them at 7850 prices. Third, the noise and heat definitely are a factor that at least for me are more important than performance. Finally, 7850 overclocks incredibly well and I at least cannot really think of a situation where you would need more performance(Even if 480 gave a miniscule improvement over 7850). I'd very happily turn a single setting down a notch(that I probably couldn't even see a difference in) if it lowers the noise, heat and power consumption by a significant margin. Ah right, the power consumption over ~2-4 years actually also favors 7850 quite a bit in the cost department as well.
League of Legends EU West, Platinum III | Yousei Teikoku is the best thing that has ever happened to music.
Gumbi
Profile Joined June 2012
Ireland463 Posts
Last Edited: 2013-04-20 10:29:40
April 20 2013 10:28 GMT
#29199
What's funny Belial, is that my Z77 is currently being RMAed, even as I'm defending it But I don't think it was VRMs or whatever that failed. I literally dced my 7950 to address a fan grinding noise at certain RPMs (turned out to be sagging of the end of the board) and when I reseated it, my motherboard failed. It turned on but wasn't giving any signal to my monitor. Soon after it died before my eyes. No fans or anything.

The website messed up the RMA, thinking I'd returned a single RAM module, sending my board back requesting both sticks for the RMA as per procedure.

I'm already without a PC for a month, so I'm considering just getting a Gigabyte one and selling my returned AsRock board. The Z77-D3H is the budget one to go for, you say? What makes the Z77X-D3H better (it's 20 euro more expensive).

Thanks as usual!
FinBenton
Profile Joined March 2011
Finland870 Posts
April 20 2013 11:56 GMT
#29200
On April 20 2013 19:03 Shikyo wrote:
First of all, 480 isn't really more powerful than 7850 for most games. Secondly, you cannot easily buy it new at a decent price at least over here so I'm not sure where you're getting them at 7850 prices. Third, the noise and heat definitely are a factor that at least for me are more important than performance. Finally, 7850 overclocks incredibly well and I at least cannot really think of a situation where you would need more performance(Even if 480 gave a miniscule improvement over 7850). I'd very happily turn a single setting down a notch(that I probably couldn't even see a difference in) if it lowers the noise, heat and power consumption by a significant margin. Ah right, the power consumption over ~2-4 years actually also favors 7850 quite a bit in the cost department as well.

Only reason in getting 480 would be used these days anyways, they go around 100€+50€ for aftermarket cooler if you want it to be really quiet. 480 is about 5-10% more powerfull than 7850 stock but 480 OCs too 10-15%.
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