EPTThe RAM is fine. Don't be afraid of models without heatspreaders too.
Computer Build Resource Thread - Page 156
| 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. | ||
|
Myrmidon
United States9452 Posts
The RAM is fine. Don't be afraid of models without heatspreaders too. | ||
|
Impulsa
United States122 Posts
On February 13 2011 08:43 Myrmidon wrote: Well, that was kind of the opposite suggestion I was making, but you're free to do whatever you want of course. IMHO water cooling is really overkill for Sandy Bridge, a GTS 250, or whatever--as is a 800D or most full towers, for those parts. The RAM is fine. Don't be afraid of models without heatspreaders too. is there any difference between 1333 and 1600 for RAM? | ||
Womwomwom
5930 Posts
I'm rather curious to see the reasoning behind obscenely large watercooling radiators. Consumer hardware isn't really that hot and you can keep everything ice cold and quiet with fairly cheap air cooling gear these days. So I don't know why you'd even consider water cooling. Large water cooling radiators look nice I guess but they're large enough to cool a damn car engine and just seem pointless outside of really huge overclocks (which air cooling can basically obtain these days anyway). | ||
|
JetGillLee
Australia43 Posts
1920x1080 Gaming/school work etc. Whenever i can't run something I want to is when I'll upgrade Building around April when 2600k comes back out Probably overclock Windows 7 64bit Probably not SLI or CrossFire I don't want a monitor with it. www.pccasegear.com www.arc.com.au www.msy.com.au Current planned build is: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 460 1GB Super Overclock Edition Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB WD1002FAEX Lian Li Lancool Dark Armor PC-K62 ASRock P67 Extreme6 Motherboard (is there problems with this?) Intel Core i7 2600K Antec TruePower TP-750 750W 2x2GB G.Skill RipJaws (Fairly sure it's 1333) Sony AD7240SGB 24X SATA DVDRW OEM Any improvements? | ||
|
Belial88
United States5217 Posts
Do you really need 1TB? How much space is on your current computer being used up? And you realize you can just slap on 2 x 500gb hard drives for cheaper? HDD has no impact on performance, simply how fast windows/your OS loads when your turn your computer back on (difference of 5 seconds) or how fast a game loads (difference of less than a second). You could go with a Caviar Blue, a still high quality HD for less. Lian Li cases are 'backwards', meaning you install the motherboard on the left side of the case instead of the right. It's all backwards, meaning the GPU faces up instead of down, and the airflow is even reversed. I don't think it's the best idea to go Lian Li for the first computer you build - but then again, it is incredibly easy to build a computer. Still, Lian Li cases are horrible values - they are amazing cases, but they are only going to be amazing if you're a huge overclocker and really know what you are doing, and scores on a benchmark are important to you. There are plenty of great cases for under $50: http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/antec-three-hundred-enermax-staray-cooler-master-elite-430,2707.html http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/nzxt-gamma-rosewill-challenger-silverstone-precision,2723.html Given today's prices are different, the NZXT Gamma is the best value, and the only reason the Rosewill scored higher is because it comes with an extra fan and at those prices, an extra $10 is a 1/5th of the price. Just buy an NZXT Gamma, and since it has space for 5 more fans, buy 5 aftermarket fans. Boom, done. i7 is a bit ridiculous, Myrmidon explains (in one of these threads) that the difference between an i5 and i7 is threading, something that isn't utilized but by one or two specific programs of video encoding. i5 will absolutely crush everything today, and you do realize that AMD is generally a better value right? Intel's top of the line though, is better than AMD's top of the line, if you have that kind of money. Guess you do. For mobo compatibility, make sure it has: same socket as processor socket, DDR3 memory slots, and at least one PCI-Express x16 slot. You can also read up on the northbridge/southbridge chipsets, but that isn't that big a deal. Just go for the cheapest RAM, sometimes it's cheaper to get a single 4GB, 2x2GB, or 4x1GB. Make sure that whatever motherboard you pick up, that if it says dual channel, you buy "2x" of RAM, and with tri channel, you buy 3x, up to the total desired amount. Who uses DVD drives anymore. Finally, this guide should be a big help to you: http://media.photobucket.com/image/recent/The_FalconO6/CurrentLogicalPCBuyingGuide/Guide.png And tomshardware has great roundups where they compare parts for the best value. | ||
|
Kazragore
United States369 Posts
 I already have a nice monitor (it is currently on the family comp) Acer H233H: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824009162 But anyways here's what I have so far: http://secure.newegg.com/WishList/PublicWishDetail.aspx?WishListNumber=22479648 Mobo: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157198 CPU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103894 GPU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130591 RAM: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231277 HDD: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152185 CD/DVD: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827106289 PSU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817148041 Case: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119228 If there's anything I really am unsure about it's the power supply, I don't know exactly how much wattage I need so I figured I'd be safe with a 650W (and I found a really cheap one at ~25 dollars after mail-in rebate). Also, if any of these brands aren't reputable or are known to have a lot of problems then obviously I would like to know that too (for example, Apevia power supply and G.SKILL RAM) I'm absolutely willing to put more money into this, its at $675 right now, and I will go up to $800 in a heartbeat if it's really worth it | ||
|
Myrmidon
United States9452 Posts
Your build isn't going to use over 400W at peak load as a conservative estimate. Here is a good 520W PSU since you still have room in the budget (no power cord included, but any old one will do): http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371030 If you had a tighter budget, a Corsair CX430 or Antec Earthwatts 430D would make fine choices too. If you're fine with flashy cases with windows, I think this PSU+case combo is very good. The interior layout of the M59 is good, it has two fans, and the StealthXStream II PSUs are solid low-budget units: NZXT M59 + OCZ StealthXStream II 600W ($99 - $40 in MIR !) http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.596048 G.Skill RAM is fine. Don't be afraid to get something without heatspreaders if that's cheaper. AMD Phenom II X4 970 is the exact same chip as the Phenom II X4 955 (cheaper by about $40 lol). Both have an unlocked multiplier, which means that in about a minute in the BIOS, you could pretty much just change the 955's multiplier such that it also runs at 3.5 GHz to match the 970 (in practice, it may also require a very slight voltage boost for stability). The unlocked multiplier is to facilitate overclocking like that, though you can still adjust base clock frequencies as on most chips. Note that the GTX 460 SE is the "slow" or "sucky" edition. It's worse than the normal ones, but not by so much that it couldn't still play SC2 handily on ultra. More places to spend if you want: 1) Better GPU, to play future games better if you also want very high settings on those too -- HD 6870, GTX 560 Ti, HD 6950, etc. 2) Aftermarket CPU cooler (e.g. Hyper 212+) -- keeps CPU temperatures lower with less noise; is necessary for non-trivial overclocking if you ever want to do that 3) SSD -- for faster application loading/boot times, better system responsiveness, though it won't improve in-game performance (e.g. OCZ Vertex 2 60GB) Those may or may not be worth the money for you. | ||
|
Mascherano
Argentina1726 Posts
I built my budget PC in december with a bunch of help from guys in this thread. Everything was good but recently sc2 has been having some random memory errors. I can't get the exact name of the error (some thing like 0x0000000008 ) but the threads I've found on google and b.net say it's most likely my ram. So they say to do a memtest but first to set your bios to default options. When I built my pc I know I didn't change any of the ram voltages or any other options (to oc or whatever). But anyway I just went to my BIOS and set it to default and now my PC wont start up. When I start her up she stays on the mobo screen. If I try to get into BIOS it says SATA1 SAMSUNG HD502HJ S.M.A.R.T. capable but command Failed. SATA 2 ASUS dvd bla bla bla Auto detect USB mass storage devices. 00 detected 3rd Master Hard Disk S.M.A.R.T. command Failed I believe it can't read my hard drive, which is partitioned in 2. Any ideas on how to fix this? I hope I haven't completely fucked my pc up  | ||
|
Kazragore
United States369 Posts
Unfortunately, I still have a few questions for you (or anyone else willing to help).Well I decided I would splooge a little bit on my GPU for better gaming now and in the future. I'm wondering which of these two cards I should get: GTX 560 TI: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127565 ~250$ HD 6950 2GB: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102914 ~278$ How much does the extra GB on the 6950 actually help? I'm sure that it'll probably help in the years down the road, but is it actually worth the extra dough? And for a new PSU I'm looking at this: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371016 (only $50 after MIR) Its an Antec, 550W continuous and 80+ certified. Will 550W be enough with the more intensive graphics card or will I need even more wattage? I took your advice and for the $40 cheaper CPU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103808 Final question (for now): will this need any additional cooling? I don't want to skimp on cooling just to try to save a few extra bucks (if it needs additional cooling ofc). Sorry to be such a nuisance who can't help himself haha | ||
|
Myrmidon
United States9452 Posts
Antec BP550 is decent, but it's of generally a little lower quality than the Neo Eco and others. And I'm not just talking about +12V capacity. Its claim to fame is being semi-modular at that price point, nothing else. Also note that its +12V capacity is only 384W. Since almost everything in modern computers uses power from +12V, you can't really think of it as having 550W, since you'll be limited by the 384W on +12V before you can reach 550W on everything total. For example, the $45 Antec Earthwatts 430D has a +12V capacity of 384W too, while the Neo Eco 520C has a +12V capacity of 480W. The BP550 may run a GTX 560 (or HD 6950) and a Phenom II X4 okay, but after overclocking and at full load, you'd definitely be too close for comfort because of the low +12V amount. I guess you didn't like the M59 with the StealthXStream II? In general in a case with reasonable airflow (i.e. not a cheapo with a single bad 80mm fan, or certain cases designed for silence over airflow, or many of those intended for office computers with no hot graphics cards to handle) and with properly working heatsinks and fans clear of dust, mounted correctly, etc.: temperatures should be okay. You generally don't need additional cooling on a single GPU setup. Just build the system and check temperatures. If they're a little high, you can throw in an extra fan or two later. | ||
|
URfavHO
United States514 Posts
I just upgraded from a GTS 250 to a Gigabyte 6850 1gb, and I was wondering if I have created a bottleneck with my AMD Athlon II X4 635 Propus? My concern is basically because my performance has not increased by as much as I had hoped. Currently, I'm using 8Gb of 1600 DDR3. Thanks | ||
|
Myrmidon
United States9452 Posts
On February 14 2011 10:04 tryclops wrote: Hello, I just upgraded from a GTS 250 to a Gigabyte 6850 1gb, and I was wondering if I have created a bottleneck with my AMD Athlon II X4 635 Propus? My concern is basically because my performance has not increased by as much as I had hoped. Currently, I'm using 8Gb of 1600 DDR3. Thanks It depends on the game or application you're talking about. SC2, particularly in large battles, is notoriously hard on the CPU, yet it doesn't really make much use of the 3rd or 4th CPU core you have. But in general, a GTS 250 is really not that much worse than a HD 6850. A GTS 250 is around the HD 5750, and we have roughly HD 5870 > HD 6870 > HD 5850 > HD 6850 > HD 5770 > HD 5750. You uninstalled old GPU drivers, installed new ones, turned Catalyst settings to "performance," turned off any kind of V-Sync/AA/AF, right? If you're looking for SC2 performance and there are no software/driver issues at fault, you might as well grab an aftermarket cooler and overclock the Athlon II X4. Maybe up the northbridge some too. It's probably not worth upgrading to a Phenom II or old Core i5-7xx. | ||
|
sinani206
United States1959 Posts
On February 14 2011 02:48 Kazragore wrote: Seems like a lot of knowledgeable people in here; was hoping one of you could just look over my build before I do something stupid I already have a nice monitor (it is currently on the family comp) Acer H233H: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824009162 But anyways here's what I have so far: http://secure.newegg.com/WishList/PublicWishDetail.aspx?WishListNumber=22479648 Mobo: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157198 CPU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103894 GPU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130591 RAM: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231277 HDD: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152185 CD/DVD: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827106289 PSU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817148041 Case: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119228 If there's anything I really am unsure about it's the power supply, I don't know exactly how much wattage I need so I figured I'd be safe with a 650W (and I found a really cheap one at ~25 dollars after mail-in rebate). Also, if any of these brands aren't reputable or are known to have a lot of problems then obviously I would like to know that too (for example, Apevia power supply and G.SKILL RAM) I'm absolutely willing to put more money into this, its at $675 right now, and I will go up to $800 in a heartbeat if it's really worth it The 460 SE is really, really terrible for it's price when the standard 460 is ten bucks more. Definitely get a 460 1GB non-SE. | ||
|
Aduromors
United States279 Posts
On February 14 2011 05:10 Kazragore wrote: Well I decided I would splooge a little bit on my GPU for better gaming now and in the future. I'm wondering which of these two cards I should get: GTX 560 TI: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127565 ~250$ HD 6950 2GB: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102914 ~278$ How much does the extra GB on the 6950 actually help? I'm sure that it'll probably help in the years down the road, but is it actually worth the extra dough?- There's not much difference in performance between the 6950 1gb and the 6950 2gb, but the 2gb can be flashed to a 6970, a $360 card. That's way more GPU power than you should need for any game though unless you are running 120hz or 2560x1600 though | ||
|
sinani206
United States1959 Posts
On February 14 2011 10:04 tryclops wrote: Hello, I just upgraded from a GTS 250 to a Gigabyte 6850 1gb, and I was wondering if I have created a bottleneck with my AMD Athlon II X4 635 Propus? My concern is basically because my performance has not increased by as much as I had hoped. Currently, I'm using 8Gb of 1600 DDR3. Thanks You should have noticed maybe a bit more increase in performance, but the GTS 250 is/was a pretty good card, so maybe you should've saved your money and waited to get a Radeon 6900 or Geforce 500 series. EDIT: As this chart says, an upgrade of 3 tiers or less is relatively parallel, and your upgrade was only 2 tiers. | ||
|
URfavHO
United States514 Posts
I actually remember seeing that chart when I bought the 250. Funny that I didn't refer to it prior to my most recent purchase (the 6850). Thanks for the info guys. | ||
|
bonedOUT
United States140 Posts
Am overkilling it in terms of the parts I am wanting to get? FIrst tiem building a PC and its hard not to want the newest thing (new sandy bridge cpu) but now I realize I might not need it. If you dont think I need it, please suggest a build that would suffice for my needs. I really appreciate all the help I have been getting from this thread! Thanks guys. | ||
|
Womwomwom
5930 Posts
| ||
|
Silentness
United States2821 Posts
On February 14 2011 17:47 bonedOUT wrote: I am having second thoughts on my build and could use some advice. I am planning on getting the i5 2500k along with the msi gtx 460 hawk. I want to use this computer for sc2 low settings and streaming at the same time while wanting to play diablo3 smoothly ( i dont think the specs for the game are out yet but i am hoping it isnt too high to play) Am overkilling it in terms of the parts I am wanting to get? FIrst tiem building a PC and its hard not to want the newest thing (new sandy bridge cpu) but now I realize I might not need it. If you dont think I need it, please suggest a build that would suffice for my needs. I really appreciate all the help I have been getting from this thread! Thanks guys. lol i5 2500k + GTX 460 does not compute when you say low. You can easily get 4.5 GHz with a cheap aftermarket cooler like Cooler Master Hyper plus 212... that will make you FPS pretty damn high even at ultra graphics for SC2. SC2 is mainly CPU hungry and i5 2500k definitely pushes out some major processor speed. | ||
|
JetGillLee
Australia43 Posts
On February 13 2011 22:49 Belial88 wrote: ^I've heard very bad things about the GTX 460 SE - it's Oh ok then guess I'll get standard.. What does SE stand for? On February 13 2011 22:49 Belial88 wrote: if you're okay with spending $1500 for a computer you only need to spend $500 on, go for it. Why $500? It's not only for SC2. On February 13 2011 22:49 Belial88 wrote: Do you really need 1TB? How much space is on your current computer being used up? And you realize you can just slap on 2 x 500gb hard drives for cheaper? Mm well I figure the convenience of the 1TB hard drive is worth the... $20 or so.. I could also get a SpinpointF3. Spinpoint better? On February 13 2011 22:49 Belial88 wrote: Lian Li cases are 'backwards', meaning you install the motherboard on the left side of the case instead of the right. It's all backwards, meaning the GPU faces up instead of down, and the airflow is even reversed. I don't think it's the best idea to go Lian Li for the first computer you build Nothing to say here. Im a stupid consumer. On February 13 2011 22:49 Belial88 wrote:i7 is a bit ridiculous, Myrmidon explains (in one of these threads) that the difference between an i5 and i7 is threading, something that isn't utilized but by one or two specific programs of video encoding. i5 will absolutely crush everything today, and you do realize that AMD is generally a better value right? Intel's top of the line though, is better than AMD's top of the line, if you have that kind of money. Guess you do. Yup I was planing on 2500k but my cousin told me the 2600k was a lot easier to overclock on. That's one of the reasons. On February 13 2011 22:49 Belial88 wrote:Who uses DVD drives anymore. what should I use? Thanks for help... Might consider cutting down a bit.. | ||
| ||
