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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. |
I stand corrected. They just don't stick it nearly as in your face as everyone else does.
I'm used to seeing "SLI" in giant flaming neon letters that burn themselves into your cornea on every product that's SLI ready.
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Heh, just link to Anandtech, the article does enough... guess that's one way for the author to borrow credibility for his product comparisons.
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thanks so much for your help!
but how do I judge how many 'input amps' i need and what my 'frequency range' should be for the different PSUs?
I did a comparison with the PSU's you suggested, and the only thing they vary on are a couple of amps here and there and im not to sure what they mean... gets me paranoid
PSU's are always scary to deal with because EVERYTHING PLUGS INTO IT!
and yea ideally for Photoshop I would get 8GB dual channel RAM but for now, to get me on my feet im starting with the 1 4gb stick.
how important is a custom heat sink and fan for cpu?
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5930 Posts
Find a good brand of PSU and just get 430-500W if you are worried. You can sperge about it and look at what it uses but who cares, if you get something like an Antec Earthwatts or Corsair CX your computer will run and shouldn't blow up.
Custom heatsinks are only important if you want to lower noise because you can pretty much run them passive. Inside a good case designed for quiet computing, stock coolers aren't really all that noisy to be honest.
We're kind of beyond the times where brand names release utterly shit products. All recent premiere brand custom heatsinks and power supplies work adequately at worst.
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Aftermarket heatsink is important if you're overclocking the CPU. I suggest the Xigmatek Gaia for $30 as something with decent cooling performance and acoustics, especially for the price:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835233082
I'm not sure what you mean by "frequency range" for the power supply. If you're talking about the input (mains power) frequency, it doesn't really matter. All PSUs can handle 50 Hz, 60 Hz, or similar. If you're talking about the switching frequency, that depends on the controller used and...actually, you're probably not talking about that.
All those PSUs are okay. Original TX650 is a somewhat older model and is the worst, while HX650 is an older model but a little better (second worst).** XFX Core and TX V2 are the same. XFX XXX is comparable to those two but slightly worse in performance, but it has a semi-modular cabling system. These are all fairly minor differences though.
**+ Show Spoiler [Well actually...] +I think current TX650 on the market are actually TX650-C, which was a short-term replacement for the original TX650. The actual original TX650 was Seasonic S12. TX650-C is CWT PSHII, which are what the Gamer Series units are. CWT PSHII is not bad at all, but it's not as good as the other PSUs listed. HX650 is a tweaked Seasonic S12 with higher efficiency.
edit: I pretty much agree with the assessment of "it doesn't really matter." If you're worried about choices like that, you shouldn't be. If you just want to know what's (slightly) better or are looking for the best deal, that's a different matter.
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I just have a question for processors, should I upgrade my AMD Athlon X2 215 2.7 Ghz processor to a AMD Phenom II X4 3.4 ghz? Is the performance difference worth the 150 dollars?
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5930 Posts
The easy way is to get a HIS Radeon HD6850 or VTX3D Radeon HD6870 instead of the GTX560 Ti. Performance difference isn't mind blowing to be honest, the difference is more "well that looks a bit smoother/a little bit sharper..." then "holy shit my eyes are burning from the DirectX 11 features!" sort of difference.
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Hey,
I've posted in this thread before and was recommended a good build. Recently I've got some more money so I'm posting again for another build.
+ Show Spoiler +What is your budget?My budget is about 1400 Australian dollars. It would be best not to spend this is all but I am willing if it's worth it. What is your resolution?I'd like to have a resolution of 1920 x 1080 (Note I don't have a monitor so this will need to be factored into the budget.) What are you using it for?I plan on using it for mostly gaming. I'd like to be able to play most current games comfortably on decent settings. I also would like to use Photoshop and Blender occasionally. What is your upgrade cycle?Id i'm spending this much money I'd like to not have to upgrade for a while (say 2 years minimum). When I do upgrade I'd like it to be fairly simple and not requiring me to take to much out of the computer. When do you plan on building it?Quite soon. Within the next few weeks. Do you plan on overclocking?I'm unsure about this. I'm not knowledgeable on the subject. Is it worth it? Any hep appreciated. Do you need an operating system?Yes. Windows 7 please. [u]Do you plan to add a secondary GPU for SLI or Crossfire?[u] No. Maybe if I upgrade in a few years. Where are you buying parts from?I live in Australia and most good overseas websites don't ship here. http://pccasegear.com/is my preferred website. If you have another trusted site feel free to recommend it.
Thanks to everyone who helps.
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Ok, so the build before was met by a lot of criticism, so I decided to start again. So far I've come up with this:
+ Show Spoiler +ASUS GeForce GTX 570 DirectCU II 1280MB- $399 Intel Core i5 2500K- $219 G.Skill Ripjaws X F3-10666CL9D-8GBXL (2x4GB) DDR3- $95 ASUS P8P67 PRO Motherboard B3- $215 Western Digital Green 2TB WD20EARX- $89 www.pccasegear.com
I'm fairly confident with everything there except for the GPU, is there a better setup? And is there anything there that I should upgrade/downgrade? I'm gonna be overclocking this computer as well by the way.
Also, I need to get a case, water cooling system, SSD, PSU, Keyboard and Mouse. All up I'm willing to pay around $2000, and I honestly wouldn't mind spending that money. And I'm going to run it with a 1920*1080 monitor.
I'm planning to buy this computer quite soon, maybe in the next week or so, and I don't plan to upgrade for the next 2-3 years at least. I'm mostly going to use the computer for gaming, maybe some media editing stuff as well. And I would like to buy everything from www.pccasegear.com as I live in Australia. Thanks to anyone who can help 
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5930 Posts
On June 05 2011 19:52 samiamquinn wrote:Hey, I've posted in this thread before and was recommended a good build. Recently I've got some more money so I'm posting again for another build. + Show Spoiler +What is your budget?My budget is about 1400 Australian dollars. It would be best not to spend this is all but I am willing if it's worth it. What is your resolution?I'd like to have a resolution of 1920 x 1080 (Note I don't have a monitor so this will need to be factored into the budget.) What are you using it for?I plan on using it for mostly gaming. I'd like to be able to play most current games comfortably on decent settings. I also would like to use Photoshop and Blender occasionally. What is your upgrade cycle?Id i'm spending this much money I'd like to not have to upgrade for a while (say 2 years minimum). When I do upgrade I'd like it to be fairly simple and not requiring me to take to much out of the computer. When do you plan on building it?Quite soon. Within the next few weeks. Do you plan on overclocking?I'm unsure about this. I'm not knowledgeable on the subject. Is it worth it? Any hep appreciated. Do you need an operating system?Yes. Windows 7 please. [u]Do you plan to add a secondary GPU for SLI or Crossfire?[u] No. Maybe if I upgrade in a few years. Where are you buying parts from?I live in Australia and most good overseas websites don't ship here. http://pccasegear.com/is my preferred website. If you have another trusted site feel free to recommend it. Thanks to everyone who helps.
You can basically copy HuggyBear's build above your post and ditch anything you don't want because what he has is a pretty solid build. If you want, you can spend a bit more to get a better case with better sound dampening features or a larger SSD.
Overclocking will basically delay the time where you are forced to replace your CPU. How long who knows but its generally good for a pretty decent amount of time if you're not picky with settings.
Pretty sure you can get Windows 7 here for cheap. Its an upgrade version but they work the same as full retail copies and if the CD key doesn't work, all you have to do is google the registry key to change.
On June 05 2011 20:11 geethy wrote:Ok, so the build before was met by a lot of criticism, so I decided to start again. So far I've come up with this: + Show Spoiler +ASUS GeForce GTX 570 DirectCU II 1280MB- $399 Intel Core i5 2500K- $219 G.Skill Ripjaws X F3-10666CL9D-8GBXL (2x4GB) DDR3- $95 ASUS P8P67 PRO Motherboard B3- $215 Western Digital Green 2TB WD20EARX- $89 www.pccasegear.comI'm fairly confident with everything there except for the GPU, is there a better setup? And is there anything there that I should upgrade/downgrade? I'm gonna be overclocking this computer as well by the way. Also, I need to get a case, water cooling system, SSD, PSU, Keyboard and Mouse. All up I'm willing to pay around $2000, and I honestly wouldn't mind spending that money. And I'm going to run it with a 1920*1080 monitor. I'm planning to buy this computer quite soon, maybe in the next week or so, and I don't plan to upgrade for the next 2-3 years at least. I'm mostly going to use the computer for gaming, maybe some media editing stuff as well. And I would like to buy everything from www.pccasegear.com as I live in Australia. Thanks to anyone who can help
Why do you need such an expensive motherboard? What does it have that lets you do more than a ASRock P67 Pro3 for instance? It looks badass and has a billion ports but do you really need all of them?
Any Antec, Corsair or Seasonic 430-500W PSU will be fine. If you want to be picky go look up some reviews on the ones you are interested in.
pccasegear is clearing 120GB OCZ Vertex 2 SSD for $200 so you might want to pick that up. Its last generation but its still crazy fast compared to mechanical disks.
You don't want water cooling, there is little point to it. Aftermarket coolers today are huge enough to dissipate stupids amount of energy and a lot safer and easier to use. Can be quieter too due to no pumps.
With cases, you might want to get a Silverstone FT02, RV02, or RV03. They're the best air cooling cases around without a doubt and aren't noisy bastards like Coolermaster cases.
Keyboards and mice are personal preference, just stay away from Logitech G### keyboard lineup because they feel like shit. Their mice are still very good though. Personally I feel the Microsoft Sidewinder X4 is pretty good for $40 - its well built, has media control features, and very good for typing with because of the mid height keys.
If you've got $700 free, get a nice Dell 27" Ultrasharp monitor. Considering the monitor will last way longer than any computer part you buy right now, its a much smarter investement to buy a good mouse, sound system, keyboard, and monitor before you decide to throw all of it into your quickly depreciating desktop. Though you might want to go with AMD if you decide to go this route seeing its a 2560x1440 resolution screen and nVidia cards are lacking in VRAM.
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Poor imitation of Tom's Hardware
Here's a more up to date article.
Tom's and AnandTech are the only hardware sites you need.
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On June 05 2011 22:34 VB_WhiplashJC wrote:Poor imitation of Tom's HardwareHere's a more up to date article.Tom's and AnandTech are the only hardware sites you need.
Eh. Not entirely true. I'd at least throw in SPCR. I like to bounce things off them after checking performance elsewhere to make sure I'm not about to be sitting next to a helicopter.
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Ok, so I have this.
+ Show Spoiler +
Total: $1513
Its a bit over budget ($1400) and including shipping will be too much. Any suggestions on what I can cut down on?
Thanks
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@samiamquinn:
You can save $80 on the case. You're not trying to run SLI GTX 570 there. Antec Three Hundred would be plenty. If you won't need USB3, AsRock P67 Pro is $14 cheaper than Pro3. You could get a Antec Neo Eco 450C instead of the 520C for $10 less.
Depending on your kind of Photoshop/Blender usage you could just get 4GB of RAM for now. RAM can always be added later with minimal hassle. If you're not overclocking, you could easily save all the money on the CPU, motherboard, and CPU cooler.
Easist way to save money would be to drop the SSD. You could also downgrade the video card.
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On June 06 2011 01:04 Myrmidon wrote:
@samiamquinn:
You can save $80 on the case. You're not trying to run SLI GTX 570 there. Antec Three Hundred would be plenty. If you won't need USB3, AsRock P67 Pro is $14 cheaper than Pro3. You could get a Antec Neo Eco 450C instead of the 520C for $10 less.
Depending on your kind of Photoshop/Blender usage you could just get 4GB of RAM for now. RAM can always be added later with minimal hassle. If you're not overclocking, you could easily save all the money on the CPU, motherboard, and CPU cooler.
Easist way to save money would be to drop the SSD. You could also downgrade the video card.
I've been waiting for you the whole day you know? XD
I wanted to confirm if I could downgrade the PSU and you did exactly that
Can someone explain to me Radeon's naming convention?
I'm a bit confused whether I should get the VTX3D Radeon 6950 (800Mhz core and 5000Mhz RAM) or the 6870 (900Mhz core and 4200Mhz RAM). =/
If the 6950's the alternative to the GTX 560 Ti, does anyone know any comparisons between the OC'd GTX 560 Ti to the stock 6950?
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What cheap flash card reader can i find on NCIX? Just something to read card from a Kodak camera
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On June 06 2011 01:17 HuggyBear wrote:Show nested quote +On June 06 2011 01:04 Myrmidon wrote:
@samiamquinn:
You can save $80 on the case. You're not trying to run SLI GTX 570 there. Antec Three Hundred would be plenty. If you won't need USB3, AsRock P67 Pro is $14 cheaper than Pro3. You could get a Antec Neo Eco 450C instead of the 520C for $10 less.
Depending on your kind of Photoshop/Blender usage you could just get 4GB of RAM for now. RAM can always be added later with minimal hassle. If you're not overclocking, you could easily save all the money on the CPU, motherboard, and CPU cooler.
Easist way to save money would be to drop the SSD. You could also downgrade the video card. I've been waiting for you the whole day you know? XD I wanted to confirm if I could downgrade the PSU and you did exactly that Can someone explain to me Radeon's naming convention? I'm a bit confused whether I should get the VTX3D Radeon 6950 (800Mhz core and 5000Mhz RAM) or the 6870 (900Mhz core and 4200Mhz RAM). =/ If the 6950's the alternative to the GTX 560 Ti, does anyone know any comparisons between the OC'd GTX 560 Ti to the stock 6950?
the 6950 is faster than the 6870
im pretty sure an overclocked 560ti thumps an overclocked 6950, so there should be an even greater gap between an overclocked 560ti and a stock 6950
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EPT
