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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. |
So, it's been 5 years since my last upgrade and I finally have gotten around to getting a new system. As I'm scrounging around trying to figure out what dual / quad channel RAM is (apparently it's just how many sticks come in the "kit"?) I realize I definitely do not know anything about what I'm doing. So of course... I turn to TL's almighty Computer Build Resource Thread :D.
PS. I guess it should be mentioned that I am looking at throwing ~$90-100 on a new mechanical keyboard as my current one is one of those beige colored monstrosities from the stone age. Luckily my mouse is fine as it is.
+ Show Spoiler +What is your budget?
Looking at approximately $1500-$1700, quite but deviating from it more than possible. Hooray for being a highschool student still living with my parents.
What is your resolution?
Currently my resolution is 1680 x 1050 but I definitely want to be getting a second monitor. I'm just not sure if I really want to be cranking up the res on my current one and depending on how this build goes I don't know if the new monitor would be secondary or primary.
What are you using it for?
Mostly gaming but I do certainly plan on streaming. Games I'm looking at really aren't too demanding (Path of Exile, DotA 2) but also likely many games to come in the future. I occasionally dabble in Photoshop and other creative softwares.
What is your upgrade cycle?
A very long 4-5 years. This isn't likely to change as I'll be heading off to university in less than 2 years and I doubt I'll really have the money to be putting together a new system very easily. My current pc was also purchased in 08 so I don't see myself upgrading often.
When do you plan on building it?
Hopefully before the end of the month. I am still a highschool student on summer vacation so I do have some leeway but I'd prefer soon. :3
Do you plan on overclocking?
Yes. Not a whole lot and perhaps not initially seeing as the amount of money I'm putting into the system is likely to be more than enough for anything now.
Do you need an Operating System?
No I do not.
Do you plan to add a second GPU for SLI or Crossfire?
Definately, unless things have changed and with a higher budget it is no longer an optimal idea to do this?
Where are you buying your parts from?
I'm from Canada so Newegg.ca is a possibility but it's not very likely, I remember before they used to have ridiculous shipping prices to where I live in Toronto. There are some small local stores like canadacomputers and whatnot that have deals a family friend who has some involvement with hardware retail said he may be able to get some discounts in some places. Overall I guess going by newegg prices would be fine seeing as I have alot of space to move around in with the budget.
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On July 19 2013 00:49 Nub4ever wrote:So, it's been 5 years since my last upgrade and I finally have gotten around to getting a new system. As I'm scrounging around trying to figure out what dual / quad channel RAM is (apparently it's just how many sticks come in the "kit"?) I realize I definitely do not know anything about what I'm doing. So of course... I turn to TL's almighty Computer Build Resource Thread :D. PS. I guess it should be mentioned that I am looking at throwing ~$90-100 on a new mechanical keyboard as my current one is one of those beige colored monstrosities from the stone age. Luckily my mouse is fine as it is. + Show Spoiler +What is your budget?
Looking at approximately $1500-$1700, quite but deviating from it more than possible. Hooray for being a highschool student still living with my parents.
What is your resolution?
Currently my resolution is 1680 x 1050 but I definitely want to be getting a second monitor. I'm just not sure if I really want to be cranking up the res on my current one and depending on how this build goes I don't know if the new monitor would be secondary or primary.
What are you using it for?
Mostly gaming but I do certainly plan on streaming. Games I'm looking at really aren't too demanding (Path of Exile, DotA 2) but also likely many games to come in the future. I occasionally dabble in Photoshop and other creative softwares.
What is your upgrade cycle?
A very long 4-5 years. This isn't likely to change as I'll be heading off to university in less than 2 years and I doubt I'll really have the money to be putting together a new system very easily. My current pc was also purchased in 08 so I don't see myself upgrading often.
When do you plan on building it?
Hopefully before the end of the month. I am still a highschool student on summer vacation so I do have some leeway but I'd prefer soon. :3
Do you plan on overclocking?
Yes. Not a whole lot and perhaps not initially seeing as the amount of money I'm putting into the system is likely to be more than enough for anything now.
Do you need an Operating System?
No I do not.
Do you plan to add a second GPU for SLI or Crossfire?
Definately, unless things have changed and with a higher budget it is no longer an optimal idea to do this?
Where are you buying your parts from?
I'm from Canada so Newegg.ca is a possibility but it's not very likely, I remember before they used to have ridiculous shipping prices to where I live in Toronto. There are some small local stores like canadacomputers and whatnot that have deals a family friend who has some involvement with hardware retail said he may be able to get some discounts in some places. Overall I guess going by newegg prices would be fine seeing as I have alot of space to move around in with the budget.
You really dont need to add a second gpu for the games you are playing, and it is usually recommended that instead of spending money on a bigger psu, better motherboard, limit case selection and future 2nd gpu, to simply buy a new gpu ~2-3 years instead of adding the 2nd one.
You also should definitely get a new monitor (should be able to put it in the same budget with no problems)
Do you have any type of case preference? Small, silent, looks.
I can put together a build for you once you tell me how you want to go in terms of gpu and the case.
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dual channel and quad channel ram are more involved than just the number of sticks that come in the kit.
Some motherboards run in dual channel, some in quad channel. This is basically the number of ram modules that can be written to or read from at a time. For instance, in a dual channel configured motherboard (and assuming compatible cpu), the ram can be accessed in pairs. So even if you have 8 sticks of ram in a dual channel machine, only 1 pair of modules can be accessed per cycle. Quad channel follows the same concept, but in groups of 4.
It is also worth noting that the pairs aren't randomly chosen, they are hardwired on the motherboard (which is why ram modules sockets are different colors, to differentiate between the channels). So if you put 2 modules in their own channels, even if the machine is a dual channel machine, it will only read from one module at a time). This comes to the issue of how many modules come per "kit". When using dual or quad channel, the module speed is slowed down to the lowest module in the channel. So if you are running a quad channel set-up, but have 1 really slow ram module, it will slow the other 3 down. This is why manufacturers sell "kits". They are guaranteeing you that these modules will all be identical and run at the advertised speeds in the specific configuration.
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On July 19 2013 00:49 Nub4ever wrote:So, it's been 5 years since my last upgrade and I finally have gotten around to getting a new system. As I'm scrounging around trying to figure out what dual / quad channel RAM is (apparently it's just how many sticks come in the "kit"?) I realize I definitely do not know anything about what I'm doing. So of course... I turn to TL's almighty Computer Build Resource Thread :D. PS. I guess it should be mentioned that I am looking at throwing ~$90-100 on a new mechanical keyboard as my current one is one of those beige colored monstrosities from the stone age. Luckily my mouse is fine as it is. + Show Spoiler +What is your budget?
Looking at approximately $1500-$1700, quite but deviating from it more than possible. Hooray for being a highschool student still living with my parents.
What is your resolution?
Currently my resolution is 1680 x 1050 but I definitely want to be getting a second monitor. I'm just not sure if I really want to be cranking up the res on my current one and depending on how this build goes I don't know if the new monitor would be secondary or primary.
What are you using it for?
Mostly gaming but I do certainly plan on streaming. Games I'm looking at really aren't too demanding (Path of Exile, DotA 2) but also likely many games to come in the future. I occasionally dabble in Photoshop and other creative softwares.
What is your upgrade cycle?
A very long 4-5 years. This isn't likely to change as I'll be heading off to university in less than 2 years and I doubt I'll really have the money to be putting together a new system very easily. My current pc was also purchased in 08 so I don't see myself upgrading often.
When do you plan on building it?
Hopefully before the end of the month. I am still a highschool student on summer vacation so I do have some leeway but I'd prefer soon. :3
Do you plan on overclocking?
Yes. Not a whole lot and perhaps not initially seeing as the amount of money I'm putting into the system is likely to be more than enough for anything now.
Do you need an Operating System?
No I do not.
Do you plan to add a second GPU for SLI or Crossfire?
Definately, unless things have changed and with a higher budget it is no longer an optimal idea to do this?
Where are you buying your parts from?
I'm from Canada so Newegg.ca is a possibility but it's not very likely, I remember before they used to have ridiculous shipping prices to where I live in Toronto. There are some small local stores like canadacomputers and whatnot that have deals a family friend who has some involvement with hardware retail said he may be able to get some discounts in some places. Overall I guess going by newegg prices would be fine seeing as I have alot of space to move around in with the budget.
Laptop memory sticks have dual channel built into a single memory stick, but you need a kit on desktop PCs for whatever reason. The kit is just to make sure you get a set of the exact same memory sticks. There are kits for dual and quad channel, and there's triple for a past socket. It's just the number of sticks, two sticks for dual, four for quad.
The Intel CPUs on the normal LGA1150 sockets have enough pins for that dual channel stuff. 1150 is the number of pins. Quad channel is the LGA2011 socket for the expensive CPUs. Triple channel was the LGA1366 socket.
The beige keyboard can be neat. You should look into yourself and find the part of you that's a little hipster and maybe enjoys staying with that keyboard.
Overclocking really isn't needed for what you mention, but it's a smart choice if you want to use all of your budget. It may also be interesting for the future when your PC gets old. The CPU will be able to compete with the top CPUs from more than one coming generation, though it somewhat depends on how lucky you get.
I feel SLI and Crossfire is stupid for normal use. If you look at a $250 card and think it won't be enough, you can just go for a more expensive one instead of a second card. SLI is something that's needed if you want to do something special, playing a game stretched over three monitors for example.
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On July 19 2013 02:09 Ropid wrote:Show nested quote +On July 19 2013 00:49 Nub4ever wrote:So, it's been 5 years since my last upgrade and I finally have gotten around to getting a new system. As I'm scrounging around trying to figure out what dual / quad channel RAM is (apparently it's just how many sticks come in the "kit"?) I realize I definitely do not know anything about what I'm doing. So of course... I turn to TL's almighty Computer Build Resource Thread :D. PS. I guess it should be mentioned that I am looking at throwing ~$90-100 on a new mechanical keyboard as my current one is one of those beige colored monstrosities from the stone age. Luckily my mouse is fine as it is. + Show Spoiler +What is your budget?
Looking at approximately $1500-$1700, quite but deviating from it more than possible. Hooray for being a highschool student still living with my parents.
What is your resolution?
Currently my resolution is 1680 x 1050 but I definitely want to be getting a second monitor. I'm just not sure if I really want to be cranking up the res on my current one and depending on how this build goes I don't know if the new monitor would be secondary or primary.
What are you using it for?
Mostly gaming but I do certainly plan on streaming. Games I'm looking at really aren't too demanding (Path of Exile, DotA 2) but also likely many games to come in the future. I occasionally dabble in Photoshop and other creative softwares.
What is your upgrade cycle?
A very long 4-5 years. This isn't likely to change as I'll be heading off to university in less than 2 years and I doubt I'll really have the money to be putting together a new system very easily. My current pc was also purchased in 08 so I don't see myself upgrading often.
When do you plan on building it?
Hopefully before the end of the month. I am still a highschool student on summer vacation so I do have some leeway but I'd prefer soon. :3
Do you plan on overclocking?
Yes. Not a whole lot and perhaps not initially seeing as the amount of money I'm putting into the system is likely to be more than enough for anything now.
Do you need an Operating System?
No I do not.
Do you plan to add a second GPU for SLI or Crossfire?
Definately, unless things have changed and with a higher budget it is no longer an optimal idea to do this?
Where are you buying your parts from?
I'm from Canada so Newegg.ca is a possibility but it's not very likely, I remember before they used to have ridiculous shipping prices to where I live in Toronto. There are some small local stores like canadacomputers and whatnot that have deals a family friend who has some involvement with hardware retail said he may be able to get some discounts in some places. Overall I guess going by newegg prices would be fine seeing as I have alot of space to move around in with the budget. Laptop memory sticks have dual channel built into a single memory stick, but you need a kit on desktop PCs for whatever reason. The kit is just to make sure you get a set of the exact same memory sticks. There are kits for dual and quad channel, and there's triple for a past socket. It's just the number of sticks, two sticks for dual, four for quad. The Intel CPUs on the normal LGA1150 sockets have enough pins for that dual channel stuff. 1150 is the number of pins. Quad channel is the LGA2011 socket for the expensive CPUs. Triple channel was the LGA1366 socket. The beige keyboard can be neat. You should look into yourself and find the part of you that's a little hipster and maybe enjoys staying with that keyboard. Overclocking really isn't needed for what you mention, but it's a smart choice if you want to use all of your budget. It may also be interesting for the future when your PC gets old. The CPU will be able to compete with the top CPUs from more than one coming generation, though it somewhat depends on how lucky you get. I feel SLI and Crossfire is stupid for normal use. If you look at a $250 card and think it won't be enough, you can just go for a more expensive one instead of a second card. SLI is something that's needed if you want to do something special, playing a game stretched over three monitors for example.
Haha, perhaps, I'm already sometimes considered a hipster in regards to my music taste x_x. Also yeah, I don't see myself playing games across monitors but certainly having 2. My biggest thing still is just making the computer last, as I rarely get to upgrade and if in the future for some reason I can no longer purchase a more up to date card cause it is no longer compatible and a SLI / Crossfire would keep up then I'd do that ... right?
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Cards will likely always be compatible because PCI-E isn't going away for the foreseeable future and is likely to always be backwards and forward compatible.
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Alright awesome! I'm not gonna lie I wasn't intending on leaving so much money for new monitors, was looking at maybe $150~ for a single one as I do want to keep my current monitor. Also I realized I had forgotten to mention I don't actually need a new HDD as I plan on ripping out my current one on my PC as it's actually like 2 months old and doing so would keep alot of my stuff.
Man as I've written this I've rewrote this part thinking about perhaps upping the amount of RAM but I guess I'm almost doubling my current amount as well as the fact I'm not doing any video editing. I'm one to run 1-2 games at once and would keep quite a few browser tabs open, I assume that's all fine and do-able on 8GB and really should I need I could just pull em out and stick more in sometime in the future right? Seeing as the additional 8GB to 16 is more than double the price 
I feel somewhat silly asking this but... the egotistical teenager in me and the fact that it's not entirely my money urges me to ask whether or not it would be a worthwhile consideration to go to an i7 4770k? Theres a slight sale for it where I live so it's not too expensive, and the additional price is more or less covered by the lack of needing to buy a hard drive. The one thing I'm concerned about in that regard would be maybe an increase in power requirement?
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You should still get a SSD unless you have one.
You dont need 16gb ram for gaming, and you can always add another 2 sticks if you feel like its not enough for other work.
an i7 is close to useless for gaming but you will see benefits in multitreaded programs. (I wouldnt spend $100 more on it)
I was very much surprised as to how much a non shitty monitor changed things for me and I only a U2312HM. (my next purchase will be a good chair)
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You should seriously consider investing in things that last, like monitors as an example. It's just a joke to see a $1500 computer paired with a $150 monitor or $100 chair.
As mentioned, the core i7's benefit over the i5 is hyperthreading. Majority of games use two cores while a few use up to four, there's more games on the horizon taking advantage of four cores. Not likely that the i7 will be put to use before it becomes dated. And a quality 450w unit such as the Seasonic G can handle any LGA1150 CPU paired with single GPU configuration with the exception of crazy overclocks. You'll be using this for your next build as well unless you plan on handing down your computer as a whole.
In five years, you're still going to use the monitor whereas you'll be itching to upgrade your CPU and GPU. You don't see anyone holding onto their Q9400 or E8400 from five years ago because these are shit now compared to the i5's and i7's. But you still see lots of people using Dell 2407's and 2207's from five years ago as their secondary monitors.
Not to mention that good monitors, chairs, and everything else that is not the computer is very noticeable. You're going to appreciate 120Hz over 60Hz or 2560x1440 over 1080p or IPS over TN much more than what the components in the computer provides you as a gamer.
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Ok yeah, that makes alot of sense. I guess I am just rather tied up about making the pc last. I'll definately be sure to pick out a good monitor :D, my chair is already quite comfortable ^^
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What is your budget?
Around $600 I can go up a bit if it'll be a nice boost in performance
What is your resolution?
1680 x 1050 currently, planning to move up to 1920 x 1080 and stay there
What are you using it for?
Bioshock, Half Life 2, Crysis, a little bit of SC2
What is your upgrade cycle?
4 - 5 years
When do you plan on building it?
Within the next couple of weeks.
Do you plan on overclocking?
No sir.
Do you need an Operating System?
I have one ^.^
Do you plan to add a second GPU for SLI or Crossfire?
I don't plan to do that.
Where are you buying your parts from?
I have a nearby Frys and Newegg are my resources.
Also if possible I was wondering if the HDD could be forfeit in favor of a SSD, I have an external and a spare harddrive with me so if a 128+ GB SSD can find itself in the budget I would appreciate it but if it competes with performance too much then let me know. Thanks in advance fellas.
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Thanks guys. Just ordered the parts for an A10 build.
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Which one, out of pure personal curiosity.
Edit: I think it might actually be a decent idea to build 6800k's with SSD's for something below 450$ish? Performance with something like a hyper 212 evo would probably give better CPU performance for a little bit more, and a GPU worth a big cost savings. That could go towards an SSD, which would make things feel a lot snappier. It would probably depend on how much over clocking headroom the 6800 has.
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On July 19 2013 11:34 Rabid.wolf wrote:
What is your budget?
Around $600 I can go up a bit if it'll be a nice boost in performance
What is your resolution?
1680 x 1050 currently, planning to move up to 1920 x 1080 and stay there
What are you using it for?
Bioshock, Half Life 2, Crysis, a little bit of SC2
What is your upgrade cycle?
4 - 5 years
When do you plan on building it?
Within the next couple of weeks.
Do you plan on overclocking?
No sir.
Do you need an Operating System?
I have one ^.^
Do you plan to add a second GPU for SLI or Crossfire?
I don't plan to do that.
Where are you buying your parts from?
I have a nearby Frys and Newegg are my resources.
Also if possible I was wondering if the HDD could be forfeit in favor of a SSD, I have an external and a spare harddrive with me so if a 128+ GB SSD can find itself in the budget I would appreciate it but if it competes with performance too much then let me know. Thanks in advance fellas.
Barring deals:
DVD: Asus DVD thing $3 off @ $16 with promo code EMCXNWM68: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827135204
Case: Antec New Solution VSK-3000@ $29.99: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129186 or a Fractal Design Core 3000 for ~$34.49: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811352032 & promo EMCXNWP226
PSU: Corsair CX430M @ $49.99: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139049 which is only like $5 more than the non modular version, so why not.
RAM: G.Skill 1600 4GB (2x2) @ $37: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231193
Mobo: Asrock B75M @$50: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157362
CPU: i3-3220 @ $130: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116775
SSD: Samsung 840 120GB @ $100: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820147188
GPU: Sapphire 7870 @ $185: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814202025
Total: $599.92 with Antec, + $5 with the Fractal Design case
There may be deals around that I haven't found, but this will certainly work. I think the i3-3220 with hyperthreading should prevent any CPU bound scenarios with games of that caliber (except SC2, but that's not your focus) so it should be fine.
Oh, and double post oops
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On July 17 2013 06:48 Myrmidon wrote:
Newton R3 600W should be more than fine with that and Crossfire. You can usually get something pretty good for cheaper, but it's definitely a high-end power supply.
Are you really upgrading into a last-gen processor, or are you upgrading out of it? Also, that's either a i5-3570k or i7-3770k.
okay, plans changed. didn't want to go haswell so i bought some used components in OCN, i found someone selling a z77 g1-sniper 3 for $200 and a i7-2600k for $220, so i jumped on that.
currently, i'm running h77+3570 and a single 7870 on a rosewill capstone 450w. i'm however selling my PSU to my cousin, so i'm thinking of investing in a high-end modular one that can stay with me for many coming years. i'd like it to have some degree of integrated fan-control, and be capable of running an OC'd i7 and a crossfire setup. i never buy top-end GPUs, but i usually go for the secondary ones, and i'm an AMD fan. so i wouldn't get the 7970, or the 7990 when it comes out, but i might crossfire a 7950 or 7870 (or 9870 / 9950).
are you sure 450w is enough? i think what i have currently with a single gpu could already pull 300w off the wall. i'm getting a high end cpu cooler, and i'd like to clock it at ~4.4.
price is not an issue when it comes to this PSU - i want the best one i can get, and i'd like to use it for up to 10 years. i chose the newton because it seems like when the comp isn't running on load the fan goes significantly quieter, and it also goes in theme with my fractal r4 case. however, i also see people selling hx850 and hx750s for ~100, which is definitely a steal - i'm just uncertain whether they have the same level of fancontrol.
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Get the corsair AX760(i) then, it will be fine for any 2 gpu configuration, and comes with 7 years waranty. You can get the 860 if you really want to, for you to see.
in the same category there is also the enermax revo 87+, enermax platimax, seasonic X, seasonic ss, lepa G, etc
i also think kingwin and bequiet have good offerings in this category
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United Kingdom20326 Posts
i think what i have currently with a single gpu could already pull 300w off the wall
PSU's are rated for output, not input(you'd want wall *efficiency, which is probably 80-90% at high load), and with low cpu oc, no gpu oc you'd probably be fine with a good 450w for xfire 7870's, so plenty of room with a higher wattage one
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edit: - actually think I got most of the parts down, just need help with the motherboard and psu, check spoiler plz. Maybe a different case cause of looks but its nbd. Think it'll come out to about $430 + os total (i3 3.3ghz, 8gb ram, 1tb hd so far)
edit 2: or I found this guy for $430 with tax from HP (os included)
i3 3.1ghz, 6gb ram, 1tb 7200rpm hd, 2x USB 3.0. Seems fairly close
http://www.amazon.com/Gateway-DX4860-UR308-Desktop-Black/dp/B009B8EBUC/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1374263258&sr=1-1&keywords=desktop i3
Should I just go with that?
Hi TL.
I need to build another computer tower for work, mainly used to play music & later videos. Budget is around $400-$500 for parts. Component wise I'd really like to have at least 1tb storage, usb 3.0 front ports, 8gb of ram, prefer intel i series over amd but that's not a deal breaker. Onboard graphics should be ok as long as I can upgrade later.
Also is it still worth it for me to build my own or should I be able to find similarly priced manufactured desktops (esp since I will probably need a buy windows)? Thanks in advance!
What is your budget? - prefer $400-$500 for parts, some wiggle room
What is your resolution? - prefer 1920 by 1080, but not too important
What are you using it for? - no gaming, maybe some photoshop work, mainly playing music and mixing videos
What is your upgrade cycle? - 2+ years
When do you plan on building it? - by the end of July
Do you plan on overclocking? - no
Do you need an Operating System? - yes, but will be bought outside of stated budget
Do you plan to add a second GPU for SLI or Crossfire? - no
Where are you buying your parts from? - newegg.com, amazon preferred
New build I'm compiling, so far got everything besides usb 3.0 motherboard and a PSU that can later support addition video + sound card:
+ Show Spoiler +
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EPT
