|
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. |
On June 20 2011 16:15 Killamancer wrote:
I plan on building a new computer to play sc2 on somewhat high setting and streaming console games. My budget is $1000 but the cheaper the better. I know I am being vague but I never built a computer before and don't really know where to start. Can anyone give me any suggestions on possible builds?
Which consoles and what resolution and quality? Aside from the normal stuff, you would need a video capture card to take in the A/V from the console and probably a splitter. You can get an HDMI splitter and a HDMI capture card or go analog with component video. 1080p capture may be expensive, though that's hopefully not something you need.
edit: you can also just have the console hooked up (only) to the computer and play the game off of the computer monitor. However, this adds some processing latencies, so what you get on screen is delayed versus the current state of the game. For some genres this shouldn't matter much--for others, you may want to avoid any kind of capture solution that introduces any significant latency.
e.g. Hauppauge HD PVR, which does up to 1080i. Depending on your needs this may be overkill. I'm not sure what else is popular these days:
http://www.hauppauge.com/site/products/data_hdpvr.html
I think there are some much cheaper and smaller solutions for 480p.
You didn't mention if you needed an operating system, monitor, or anything else either.
|
On June 21 2011 01:05 XenOmega wrote:
The heatsink fan are faster than the back fan of my case, i believe. Should i still keep the back case fan (exhaust)? (I remember you recommending me to have both fans on the heatsink to be the same speed
Robert
Best way to find out what works better is to experiment. If your temperatures are reasonably good with an overclock, I wouldn't worry about it.
|
On June 21 2011 01:05 XenOmega wrote:
The heatsink fan are faster than the back fan of my case, i believe. Should i still keep the back case fan (exhaust)? (I remember you recommending me to have both fans on the heatsink to be the same speed
Robert
This is the fiddly tiny detail sort of question that isn't relevant if you aren't pushing things to their absolute max, and like skyR said, expirimentation is the only way to know.
|
Are aftermarket case fans generally better than the normal case fans? Is the difference negligible? I'm considering picking up an aftermarket case fan to replace the case fans in my case
|
5930 Posts
The difference is mostly negligible unless you care about noise or are using it for specific purposes.
|
Some are, some aren't. If you're going for extra case fans or looking to replace current case fans, I'd go for more premium brands such as Noctua, Yate Loons, and Scythe.
Your case fans may have a label listing its CFM and RPM so you may want to take a peak to see how good they are.
|
Don't buy Apevia fans, Kezzer, they're shit. Cheap bearings, inconsistent build quality. Don't move enough air, fall apart fast, and noisy.
If you want different LED fans, your best bet is the Antec Tricool LEDs. They're probably the only LED fans made up to a halfway decent standard, and the only one's I've seen silentpcreview.com not swear about.
Actually, let's just pretend I didn't specify Apevia fans... don't buy Apevia. Their PSU's are shit, their fans are shit, their cases are overpriced shit...
They're budget gamer-style stuff that will fall apart.
I've probably replaced more Apevia PSU's for friends than every other brand put together.
|
5930 Posts
CFM values are normally false or a half truth, just like how monitor companies often lie about the actual amount of colours they're able to display.
More premium brands aren't specifically better for case fans. $5 Coolermaster R4s blow the same amount of air as your Noctuas or Scythes just the Noctuas or Scythes are probably going to have a smoother sounding tone.
The best deal we have in Australia is a 4 pack of Thermalright 120mm X-Silents for $35, maybe you have something like that on Newegg?
|
Oh wow alright then. I do have an extra fan that I'm considering installing into my 2 fan case. Currently it has an intake on the side, and an ouput in the rear. There is a spot in front for a fan, should I make it output or intake, or should i switch some around inside?
|
On June 21 2011 03:23 Kezzer wrote:
Oh wow alright then. I do have an extra fan that I'm considering installing into my 2 fan case. Currently it has an intake on the side, and an ouput in the rear. There is a spot in front for a fan, should I make it output or intake, or should i switch some around inside?
Make the front an intake. Bear in mind, if it doesn't have a 3pin motherboard connection or a switch, it might be loud, depending on the model.
|
thanks! one last question about this, i have connected the front fan to the case, but it is sharing a 4 pin connector with the side fan. the 4 pin connector that comes from the psu always comes in 2s, a female socket and a male socket. i connected the female socket to the remaining male socket on the psu's double 4 pin connector. will the 2 fans be fighting for power? or will there be sufficient power for both?
|
On June 21 2011 04:14 Kezzer wrote:
thanks! one last question about this, i have connected the front fan to the case, but it is sharing a 4 pin connector with the side fan. the 4 pin connector that comes from the psu always comes in 2s, a female socket and a male socket. i connected the female socket to the remaining male socket on the psu's double 4 pin connector. will the 2 fans be fighting for power? or will there be sufficient power for both?
If your fans are causing PSU issues, you already had PSU issues.
|
no psu issues i was just making sure the psu would power both equally off the same cable
|
Female or male is irrelevant. Sharing is caring.
Wait, let me start over again. It doesn't matter how you connect it. The male/female connectors are just for physically plugging together--whatever works, works. Electrically, you're just connecting the +12V wires together, +5V wires together, and ground wires together, with maybe a different segment of metal. Every fan you connect in any way with those connectors will be wired in parallel, receiving the same voltage from the power supply (minus very tiny resistive losses across the wires).
|
On June 21 2011 04:22 Kezzer wrote:
no psu issues i was just making sure the psu would power both equally off the same cable
It takes a hell of a lot off of one molex cable to start noticing power issues. A couple of fans won't do it.
On June 21 2011 04:26 Myrmidon wrote:
Female or male is irrelevant. Sharing is caring.
across the wires).
Kinky. Guess we know which bars we can find Myrm in. 
|
Hey guys, I guess this maybe isn't the right thread for this but I don't feel like making another one when I know you guys here can help me just as easily.
Now that I've got my computer I'm noticing things that I need to buy. For one, I need a 1/4" to 1/8" audio cable adapter because I've already broken one headphone jack on my tablet because the damn plug that Sennheiser gives you is so long it puts too my pressure on the jack and I don't want to ruin my new comp's jack. I've been looking at this one but I'm sure there are others cheaper out there. Maybe I should just go to Radioshack and buy a cheapo? Not sure how that would affect sound quality.
Another thing, I need a new keyboard. The one I have now will randomly cut out for about 5 seconds every now and then and is generally a piece of crap. It actually cut out while I was typing this post. I'm pretty sure it's not anything wrong with my computer because my mouse works just fine and I've switched the ports. I'm not looking to go mechanical or anything fancy like that. I just want a solid cheap keyboard with no extra bells or whistles. I'm not too picky. I'm not sure what to think about this LITE-ON keyboard that is so highly rated at Newegg for 7.99.
Also, I want to work on overclocking sometime soon. It's not that hard with an i5 2500k right?
edit: found this.
http://shop.sennheiserusa.com/retail2002/ProductDetails.aspx?direct_cat=Parts&direct_prod=092595
|
Depending on what Sennheiser you have and how the motherboard onboard audio is working under real world conditions, I wouldn't worry about the motherboard's audio jacks since you might want to be using a better source anyway, even if it's a cheap internal sound card (e.g. Asus Xonar DG). If you really have a more expensive model that uses a 1/4" jack, I'd consider using something other than the onboard sound.
edit: oh wait HD 5xx have 1/4" jack IIRC--so that's borderline.
But anyway, most cheapo cables are serviceable unless you need something much sturdier. Grado's offering is way overpriced, as is probably what you'd find at Radioshack. There's practically no difference in audio quality unless you have a flaky connection. If you can't find a 1/4" F to 1/8" M, you can use an adapter plus a cable:
http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=104&cp_id=10429&cs_id=1042903&p_id=7135
http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=102&cp_id=10218&cs_id=1021808&p_id=5587
Keyboard--hard to say without using it, but it is what it is.
Overclocking a i5-2500k should be pretty painless, assuming you have a proper P67 or Z68 motherboard. You didn't have stock cooling, did you?
|
Yeah I've already got a plug adapter like that. I basically just need a cord to take pressure off of the headphone jacks. I was hoping to go ahead and take the plug I have out of the equation too and just use one cord but I guess that could work.
I've got a Xigmatek Gaia for cooling.
|
|
|
It's all good Appetizer, except for one major thing.
You don't have a CPU.
|
|
|
|
|
|
EPT
