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

August 15 2010 00:23 GMT

#841

I dunno, both are probably good, and they seem to be very similar. The interesting thing is that the 400CX and 430CX seem to be made by different manufacturers, but both of them have great reputations and are listed under FragKrag's "Reputable OEMs" list on the first page.

mishimaBeef

Canada2259 Posts

August 15 2010 00:26 GMT

#842

Could you please tell me what is your opinion on the asus eah 5770 card then? I saw a lot of bad reviews on the net,

EDIT: Is BFG 550W a good idea?

monk

United States8477 Posts

August 15 2010 00:39 GMT

#843

I swear that monitor wasn't sold out 3 hours ago. It was a really hot deal. I'm not really sure if walmart.com ships to canada anyways. You'd have to pretend to order something and see the shipping fee on checkout.

PSU: Cosair is a very reputable company for power supplies so either product will work. Just buy the one that has better reviews or is cheaper. It doesn't really matter much.

Graphics: Whatever you do, don't buy the better rated 5750. Instead, get a different 5770 if you're uncomfortable with with the ASUS 5770 because of the ratings. Tons of companies make 5770's, not just ASUS. The sapphire 5770 recommended by a176 is good, but realistically you can pick any 5770 that has good ratings and is within your price range. Performance differences between 5770's is negligible, just the quality differs.

PS, I checked out the walmart.ca website and it was horrible.

mishimaBeef

Canada2259 Posts

August 15 2010 00:41 GMT

#844

Yeah I also thought it was a poort website. I won't get the 5750 but I am trying to decide between an ASUS EAH5770 CuCore $140 with medium reviews and a Sapphire 5770 V2 $166 that has generally better reviews.

What do you think of the BFG 550W power supply? Thing is I might want to take advantage of the combo deal (its $45 with a featured video card).

monk

United States8477 Posts

August 15 2010 00:50 GMT

#845

On the choice of video card, it's pretty much a $26 premium for peace of mind. The only signigifcant differences between the 2 cards is that one breaks more and the Sapphire is better for dual monitors. The BFG PSU looks fine too, probably better tbh, because imo you should have 500w of power to be on the safe side. And 550w is definitely not overkill either.

mishimaBeef

Canada2259 Posts

August 15 2010 00:55 GMT

#846

Great

. Oh by the way I think I was thinking of changing the hard drive from seagate $40 to WD caviar black $60. Is that a good decision? What's the difference between them anyway? Someone had suggested this to me.

EDIT: Well about the power supply, I am convinced 400W is enough for my system including any overclocking (someone said this and a little research on my part seems to say it's correct). Still I might as well take advantage of the combo deal and have a 550 W supply there ready incase a stronger GPU or CPU or something else makes its way into my case in the future.

Myrmidon

United States9452 Posts

August 15 2010 01:09 GMT

#847

WD caviar black has a longer warranty (5 years vs. 3 years I think) and probably very slightly better performance. Seagate is a little less reputable?

These links were all I could find in a couple minutes of Google about the BFG GS 550W.

mishimaBeef

Canada2259 Posts

August 15 2010 01:17 GMT

#848

Well, I think I have decided on everything but am still thinking to go with the Asus EAH5770 CuCore for $140 despite some of the reviews on the web. Someone told me not to take internet horror stories too seriously as they may have not properly had ventilation in the case or other things.

It's a good deal with 3 year warranty. What do you guys think?

monk

United States8477 Posts

August 15 2010 01:24 GMT

#849

Yea, WD caviar black has the longest warranty and is the most reputable brand. Seagate and Samsung are its 2 biggest competitors and are both very reputable (Samsung more so). I would say to get a Samsung Spinpoint F3. It's pretty much comparable to a WD Caviar Black in certain categories and better in others, but much lower price generally, which is good for a budget build. However, your seagate 7200.12 drive is also alright and you could go with that if you find a really cheap one. I would definately go Samsung Spinpoint F3 over the Seagate if you find similar prices.

FragKrag

United States11566 Posts

August 15 2010 01:45 GMT

#850

Seagate is only 'unreputable' because the 7200.11 drives would write a certain sequence due to firmware issues and them just brick themselves. The 7200.12 are admirable drives so go for it.

Internet horror stories are usually caused by the users themselves. Be careful with your hardware and take care of it.

monk

United States8477 Posts

August 15 2010 01:56 GMT

#851

Yea, also keep in mind that only people who have either really good praise or a really bad experience will review a product, so if a product is rated 1 star 10% of the time, it probably means like it actually failed like 1% of the time.

FragKrag

United States11566 Posts

August 15 2010 02:17 GMT

#852

On August 15 2010 10:17 mishimaBeef wrote:
Well, I think I have decided on everything but am still thinking to go with the Asus EAH5770 CuCore for $140 despite some of the reviews on the web. Someone told me not to take internet horror stories too seriously as they may have not properly had ventilation in the case or other things.

It's a good deal with 3 year warranty. What do you guys think?

The 5770 should be fine. 3 year warranty + ASUS isn't a terrible company should make for a decent deal.

mav451

United States1596 Posts

August 15 2010 02:20 GMT

#853

On August 15 2010 10:45 FragKrag wrote:
Seagate is only 'unreputable' because the 7200.11 drives would write a certain sequence due to firmware issues and them just brick themselves. The 7200.12 are admirable drives so go for it.

Internet horror stories are usually caused by the users themselves. Be careful with your hardware and take care of it.

Well I watched as Seagate forum mods lock threads repeatedly until they finally gave in and made an official announcement. It was not only infuriating to see (the constant denial, banning, and deletion of threads) - but it undermined what little confidence I had left of Seagate. In addition, I was never a fan of Maxtor or their factories, and with Seagate now producing out of those, it only further eroded what little faith I had left in Seagate. It's like sweet - you guys acquired a shitty hard drive company and now all Seagate users get to reap those rewards.

Sure maybe we forget this in 10 years (the way current users have NO idea of OCZ's terrible RAM past)...but prudent users should always be aware of a company's skeletons - no matter how old.

FragKrag

United States11566 Posts

August 15 2010 02:22 GMT

#854

I think a lot of people are aware of OCZ's RAM :/

Still, the 7200.12 are great drives! I do give that Maxtor is bad -_-

mishimaBeef

Canada2259 Posts

August 15 2010 02:23 GMT

#855

Cool. Thanks so much for all the helpful suggestions and information today guys. I'm gonna order the parts tomorrow morning. Gonna start studying up on stuff in preparation for when my parts arrive. Cheers guys.

P.S. This thread rules

mishimaBeef

Canada2259 Posts

August 15 2010 02:26 GMT

#856

Yeah in one of my initial builds last week someone told me to stay away from OCZ gold RAM despite the great deal. What is the past like with them? Bad compatibility issues?

FragKrag

United States11566 Posts

August 15 2010 02:29 GMT

#857

I have no idea if they fixed it, but OCZ RAM has been known to just not work on AMD systems and sometimes even Intel systems.

FragKrag

United States11566 Posts

August 15 2010 02:34 GMT

#858

oh sick AnandTech has GPU benches organized like TomsHardware now

http://www.anandtech.com/show/3850/ask-and-you-shall-receive-gpu-bench-is-live

sick sick sick

iPlaY.NettleS

Australia4423 Posts

August 15 2010 03:04 GMT

#859

picked up a GTX 460 , i highly recommended - great price/performance ratio

Bair

United States698 Posts

August 15 2010 03:37 GMT

#860

So after a long, stressful day, I come home, play a round of SC2, something sets me off and I slam my laptop into the wall.

[image loading]

Been meaning to get a new one anyway.

Rather than make a new thread and get it closed by mods, I figured I would actually post this in the right place. Yes I do need a laptop. I travel often for work, so getting a tower is literally useless to me. I cannot lug it around.

That being said, the only requirements I have are decent audio (will be using it for audio work), and able to run SC2 on high (at least!) in a better resolution than 1024x768. I am not made of money, so the cheaper, the better, but at the same time I am looking for something that will last me awhile (quality!).

I am no computer guy, so what would you recommend?