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.
Thanks for the tips, but is that $30 educational discount only an upgrade from Windows Vista?
@ SkyR, thanks for the excellent finds! I will probably use those parts instead to cut down costs.
So I would save considerable $$$ if I step down to i3, but will he still be able smoothly experience SC2 at max settings with and i3 (assuming large 4v4 battles, as well as ums games like SotIS?
Starcraft 2 only utilizes two cores so having a core i5 which is a quad core would only be slightly faster than the core i3 due to it being clocked higher.
Windows 7 upgrades work exactly like full retail versions. You can do full installs and the CD key sometimes works exactly like a full retail version key - if Windows 7 complains about it being a upgrade version, google the relevant registry key to change so it accepts it.
Dual or quad core doesn't matter for Starcraft 2. It will matter in other games and applications, however, so if your friend does anything like play Civilization 5 or Crysis as well as uses the Adobe Suite of software fairly often, you might as well get a quad core processor.
On June 25 2011 13:54 skyR wrote: Starcraft 2 only utilizes two cores so having a core i5 which is a quad core would only be slightly faster than the core i3 due to it being clocked higher.
Also don't forget the difference in L3 cache. However, the i3-2100 should be acceptable in all situations for SC2. It's mainly for programs that will actually make use of all the cores, that you may want to get the i5-2400. If you're looking to keep the budget low, I would take the i3-2100 and not look back. The socket 1155 motherboards should be compatible with Intel's next-gen processors coming out next year, so there's always the possibility to upgrade to something better later on if need be.
I heard this thread is the best for advice, so here I go:
I'm planning to upgrade my 2 year old PC to meet the demands of newest games (and get a high fps in SC2). I'm a bit newbie when it comes to PC components, but after some researching (browsing this forum and asking friends), I've decided to limit my search to i5 2500K or some i7 processor. My budget is anywhere from 400€ ($566) to 700€ ($1000), depending which components i need to upgrade. I have no idea which graphics card I need/want, so I'm open to suggestions.
My problem is that I have no idea whether my old case and PSU are enough for the new components, or do I need to upgrade them too, which would be like buying a whole new PC. I'm also hesitant to do overclocking, as I don't really want to raise the processor temperature or noise level.
Processor: Intel Sandy Bridge i5 2500k -- 184.90€ ($262) Processor cooling: Arctic Cooling Freezer 13 Pro -- 28,90€ ($41) [Do i need cooling? Better?] Motherboard: ASRock P67 Pro3, P67 -- 112.80€ ($160) [The first one that i found] Graphics card: Sapphire Radeon HD 6870 1024MB -- 139,80€ ($198) [No idea on this one, I'm open to suggestions] RAM: G.Skill RipJaws-X DIMM Kit 8GB -- 79.80€ ($113) [*I want at least 6GB of memory, and this seems to be a cheap way to get it.]
Total: 546.20€ ($774)
*4GB is not enough for me, as I constantly use 3.5GB on my current PC. 8GB seems a bit overkill, so i guess 6GB would be optimal.
This seems like a good price and combination to me. I would be willing to maybe pay 50€-200€ to get serious improvements, at least if I don't need to buy a new case and PSU.
I'm open to any suggestions, as my knowledge is pretty much based on this thread already.
You can recycle your old PSU because your old system would likely consume more power than this current one.
The HD6870 is around ~10 inches so you might want to see if your GPU will butt against any hard disks. The Nexus Clodius seems to be a really old design that doesn't really take extremely long GPUs into consideration.
If you're running stock settings, you don't need additional cooling and the stock Intel CPU cooler is sufficient. If you are going to run your processor at stock settings, you might as well downgrade to a i5 2400 which is essentially the same processor without Intel HD3000 (which you aren't going to use since you have a GPU) and an unlocked multiplier (which is only useful for overclocking).
That being said, if you want to overclock moderately, like to around the low to mid 4Ghz region, you need an aftermarket CPU cooler like the Arctic Cooling Freezer 13 Pro you initially planned to get. If you don't go overzealous on voltage manipulation, the processor temperatures will remain well under the threshold and the noise shouldn't increase by much.
Assuming the GPU is able to clear properly and you are overclocking, your initial build is very good.
It's a bit lower than I expected for a 560W, but I believe you should still be ok. An i5-2500K and reference 6870 will consume about 251W total at load.
Hey, I was wondering whether there there was a difference between the Antec EarthWatts 650w and the green version other than the fact that it uses less power. Will the green version be able to run 2 560ti's in SLI mode?
On June 26 2011 05:34 TheAppetizer wrote: Hey, I was wondering whether there there was a difference between the Antec EarthWatts 650w and the green version other than the fact that it uses less power. Will the green version be able to run 2 560ti's in SLI mode?
Both variants are easily capable of providing adequate power for a GTX 560 Ti SLI configuration. The green variant is the updated model of the original and has been improved in terms of efficiency, amount of connectors, and provides more power than the original.
On June 26 2011 05:34 TheAppetizer wrote: Hey, I was wondering whether there there was a difference between the Antec EarthWatts 650w and the green version other than the fact that it uses less power. Will the green version be able to run 2 560ti's in SLI mode?
Both variants are easily capable of providing adequate power for a GTX 560 Ti SLI configuration. The green variant is the updated model of the original and has been improved in terms of efficiency, amount of connectors, and provides more power than the original.
Are you wondering the same thing I am about that question, skyR?
How can a power supply use less power when it's providing the power for all the components? Since it is more efficient, it draws less power from the wall I guess =p
On June 26 2011 05:43 skyR wrote: How can a power supply use less power when it's providing the power for all the components? Since it is more efficient, it draws less power from the wall I guess =p
Actually I was wondering why someone would want 560Ti SLI over a single 580 for a similar price, since the headaches and lack of guaranteed scaling kind of make up for the at most 20% better performance in best case scaling scenarios.
Obviously ignoring situations where the extra memory makes that slightly better.
I'd probably do it, but I thrive on the tweaking and insanity. Most people prefer plug and play, set it up and forget type stuff.
EDIT: JingleHell, I plan to buy one 560ti first, and buy another one sometime early next year or christmas. I don't have the patience to wait that long for another $250 to begin building my computer.
On June 26 2011 05:34 TheAppetizer wrote: Hey, I was wondering whether there there was a difference between the Antec EarthWatts 650w and the green version other than the fact that it uses less power. Will the green version be able to run 2 560ti's in SLI mode?
It's a different design I think. Both are manufactured by Delta, but the Green version is newer and a little better it seems. However, both should be able to handle SLI GTX 560 Ti. Possibly the original Earthwatts would have a little more trouble, but only if you're overclocking them a lot, overclocking a i7-9xx or Phenom II X6 a lot, and running the system to max power draw.
The Green version is rated for 650W on +12V rather than the 540W on +12V that the original Earthwatts has, and the Green version is some 2-4% more efficient. I think they're both double forward (common) designs with individually regulated +12V/+5V/+3.3V outputs. Voltage regulation on both is good, but the Green version has a little better ripple suppression.
Capacitors and components in both are a mix of decent to great, so there's not much difference there. Not all the parts are described in reviews of both, but it looks like the original has a higher combined capacitance on the primary side APFC capacitor(s), which probably doesn't make much difference other than being able to power on your system for a few more miliseconds in the case of a very brief (like 10ms) power outage or brownouts. Both use ball bearing fans, the original Earthwatts from ADDA and the Green from Protechnic. Apparently the Green is configured to be pretty quiet, probably quieter.
edit: if you're looking for a pretty decent power supply that can handle that kind of power draw, I would pick up the Earthwatts Green 650W and not look back. $55 shipped looks like a very good price for something like that.
Thanks again, I put together my first computer based on the build we talked about.
Small problem though:
It's the top 140mm fan on the Antec 300 Illusion case. I have it connected to the PSU using a 4-pin molex, but it's not functioning. Anything I can try, or should I RMA the fan to Antec?
Before contacting Antec for a replacement fan. Try another molex connector such as one that powers one of your other fans. This way you'll know it's either a faulty molex connector or something wrong with the fan.
Do the fans come with speed switches? If so, try it on high.
I think it's a common problem among Antec? I've experienced faulty fans with the Antec 900 and P182 a few years back.
EPT
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