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Computer Build Resource Thread - Page 488

Forum Index > Tech Support
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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.
JingleHell
Profile Blog Joined March 2011
United States11308 Posts
August 15 2011 21:23 GMT
#9741
A better case can help your temps, but make sure you actually get a better case. It's really easy to end up with a bad one. Anyways, unless your case is complete shit, getting a better one will only change temps by a couple degrees at most unless you spend a pile on a high end one.

There's certain exceptions where certain components do much better in certain cases, but that's research intensive stuff.
Wabbit
Profile Joined August 2010
United States1028 Posts
August 15 2011 21:28 GMT
#9742
On August 16 2011 06:01 Automata wrote:

I need a graphic card to play SC2, hopefully be able to run BF3 and Skyrim in the future. There is no way to OC my 460 any higher. Right now, my 460 idles at 60c, under load temps at 99c. So my thinking is more like a single GPU replacement.

ATM, my graphic card poops out and just shuts down if I use it to play an extended period of time.


Not sure how much you have OC'd it so far, but card overheating due to dust build-up is a very common issue which brings people to the tech support forums. Your easiest and cheapest first step should be to get some compressed air and clean out that GPU (and the rest of your heatsinks/fans while you're at it).
A GTX460 should still handle those games fairly well as long as you get the temps down & have it be stable.
The answers to most of your Tech Support questions are in the OP. That's why you're not getting a reply. It's been answered before. Read the OP.
Automata
Profile Joined March 2011
393 Posts
August 15 2011 21:41 GMT
#9743
On August 16 2011 06:28 Wabbit wrote:
Show nested quote +
On August 16 2011 06:01 Automata wrote:

I need a graphic card to play SC2, hopefully be able to run BF3 and Skyrim in the future. There is no way to OC my 460 any higher. Right now, my 460 idles at 60c, under load temps at 99c. So my thinking is more like a single GPU replacement.

ATM, my graphic card poops out and just shuts down if I use it to play an extended period of time.


Not sure how much you have OC'd it so far, but card overheating due to dust build-up is a very common issue which brings people to the tech support forums. Your easiest and cheapest first step should be to get some compressed air and clean out that GPU (and the rest of your heatsinks/fans while you're at it).
A GTX460 should still handle those games fairly well as long as you get the temps down & have it be stable.


My zotac gtx460 is OC'd to 800/1600/1800. I'm sure I can go further but it doesn't help that it crashes when I play sc2 because it gets too hot.

I cleaned my computer just a month ago so I don't think it's a matter of dust build up though. I'm currently using an Antec Sonata 2 case (only fan being the rear one). I'm thinking of upgrading to the Cooler Master HAF912 or Storm Scout.

Thanks again for the responses so far, really helps.
JingleHell
Profile Blog Joined March 2011
United States11308 Posts
August 15 2011 21:54 GMT
#9744
If you're crashing under SC2 load on your GPU, you really have something causing more heat issues than just the OC should be causing. A 460 at stock gets bottlenecked by most CPUs.

Either you've got dust in your heatsink or you need to re-do the thermal paste on your GPU. Or possibly both.
luminous90
Profile Joined November 2010
14 Posts
August 15 2011 21:54 GMT
#9745
What is your budget?
600-800$

What is your resolution?

1600x900 with the current monitor.

What are you using it for?

I am gaming a lot, and while the machine i use now can run 30 fps on medium setting for sc2, I would like to get into streaming and youtube production soon. I would like these things to run as smoothly as they can so I can focus more on work rather than fumbling with bad performance and etc...

What is your upgrade cycle?

I can upgrade again in a year, 2 at most, but I would like to keep it pretty up to date.

When do you plan on building it?

As soon as I can get a cohesive build together which is well recommended by the community and I feel comfortable buying all the parts without fearing returning them because of incompatibility.

Do you plan on overclocking?

Probably not, I have never done it, and I am not a hardcore gamer who plays on very high settings or anything.

Do you need an Operating System?

No

Do you plan to add a second GPU for SLI or Crossfire?

No

Where are you buying your parts from?

I have both Fry's and MicroCenter nearby and have been to Fry's plenty. If there are better deals online, I would do that as well, so if I have to get things from different places, that would be no problem! Bundle deals are obviously appreciated, and I don't really know where to shop online to get the most bang for my buck.

Thanks so much for helping me out with this, this is my first computer build, and I would appreciate all the help I can get.
skyR
Profile Joined July 2009
Canada13817 Posts
Last Edited: 2011-08-15 22:36:44
August 15 2011 22:27 GMT
#9746
Totals to $756 before mail in rebate:

You can get rid of the SSD if you want to lower the total.

Core i5 2400 @ $150
http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0354590

Asrock H61M U3S3 @ $75
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157236

Sapphire Radeon HD6870 @ $175 ($155 after mail in rebate)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102948

XFX Core Edition 450 @ $55 ($45 after mail in rebate)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817207012

Gskill 2x4GB 1333MHz @ $45
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231424

Coolermaster HAF 912 @ $60 ($50 after mail in rebate)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119233

Samsung Spinpoint F3 1TB @ $60
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152185

Crucial M4 64GB @ $115
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148441

DVD Burner @ $19
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827106289

SATA cable for the SSD @ $2
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16812123169
flavorless
Profile Joined August 2010
United States59 Posts
Last Edited: 2011-08-15 22:45:55
August 15 2011 22:45 GMT
#9747
So, I'm upgrading a Dell Dimension 8250. I have increased the ram to 768mb. My current bottleneck seems to be the Graphics Card. I was wondering if this would be supported by the motherboard in the system.
"Anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that 'my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge.'" — Isaac Asimov
skyR
Profile Joined July 2009
Canada13817 Posts
August 15 2011 22:50 GMT
#9748
Yes it is but if I were you, I'd save up for an entirely new system. Even a sub $500 configuration will destroy what you currently have (Pentium 4, DDR memory, integrated graphics). 6200 isn't going to be a big improvement, most games will still be unplayable at most resolutions.
luminous90
Profile Joined November 2010
14 Posts
August 15 2011 22:55 GMT
#9749
I think I am going to save the SSD for christmas or save up for it before. Regarding the SSDs,will they drastically help things like uploading large videos to youtube, converting large files, etc...things in that line of work? Because if it saves me time, its a no brainer investment.

The spinpoint drive says "Bare drive." does this mean it comes with no cables for connection, do I have to use some from my old computer? Sorry if it seems like a dumb question, I really don't know what goes with what yet
skyR
Profile Joined July 2009
Canada13817 Posts
Last Edited: 2011-08-15 23:01:06
August 15 2011 23:00 GMT
#9750
Harddrives and optical discs come as OEM components meaning you get the component in a static bag and nothing else. All retail motherboards will include at least two SATA cables so you'll need a third cable if you plan on adding an additional HDD or SSD.

If you plan on using Fraps, I recommend getting a dedicated HDD just for Fraps.

The speed of uploading to youtube depends on how fast your upload is.

If you are doing a lot of editing, you may want to look into getting a P67 / Z68 motherboard along with a Core i5 2500k or Core i7 2600k for overclocking purposes. You can take a look at the difference between a stock clock core i5 2500k and core i7 2600k vs overclocked ones in this article: http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/cpu/display/core-i7-2600k-990x_11.html#sect0
flavorless
Profile Joined August 2010
United States59 Posts
Last Edited: 2011-08-15 23:06:08
August 15 2011 23:03 GMT
#9751
My friend said that it had 8 pins and wouldn't work in the motherboard. Is he wrong? I think that my motherboard will only support 4x.
"Anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that 'my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge.'" — Isaac Asimov
Myrmidon
Profile Blog Joined December 2004
United States9452 Posts
August 15 2011 23:06 GMT
#9752
On August 16 2011 07:55 luminous90 wrote:
I think I am going to save the SSD for christmas or save up for it before. Regarding the SSDs,will they drastically help things like uploading large videos to youtube, converting large files, etc...things in that line of work? Because if it saves me time, its a no brainer investment.

The spinpoint drive says "Bare drive." does this mean it comes with no cables for connection, do I have to use some from my old computer? Sorry if it seems like a dumb question, I really don't know what goes with what yet


Uh, no, an SSD doesn't help with any of that. Just think about what's being done. Uploading videos to YouTube is bound by how fast your Internet connection to their servers is. (do you really think that your upload speeds are faster than your current hard drive can read?) Converting large files is CPU-intensive unless it's a really really trivial operation, so the CPU and not the drive will be the bottleneck.

An SSD isn't magically going to change how your computer works. It's just a storage drive that has some performance characteristics (small accesses) kind of in the middle between RAM and mechanical drives. Unless you're waiting on data to be serviced by your storage drive (though this happens a lot in day-to-day computer usage), an SSD won't improve anything over a mechanical drive.

Almost all the hard drives you can buy at e-tail just come packaged in bubble wrap without any accessories. You can use an old SATA cable to connect it to the motherboard, but new motherboards come with two (or more) SATA cables already, so you generally don't need to buy new ones. It's not like SATA cables are expensive though.
skyR
Profile Joined July 2009
Canada13817 Posts
Last Edited: 2011-08-15 23:13:22
August 15 2011 23:13 GMT
#9753
On August 16 2011 08:03 flavorless wrote:
My friend said that it had 8 pins and wouldn't work in the motherboard. Is he wrong? I think that my motherboard will only support 4x.


He's wrong. 8x 4x refers to the speed. There are several AGP ports but none of them are referred to as a 8 pin AGP slot... There's 3.3v, 1.5v, universal, pro, and some others. The documentation on your Dell specifies it has a 1.5v slot. The card you linked I believe is a AGP 3.0 card which works in 1.5v. But it's been like ten years so you should probably double check with someone else.
flavorless
Profile Joined August 2010
United States59 Posts
August 15 2011 23:20 GMT
#9754
Ok. Thanks for your help. I'll think about saving for a new system.
"Anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that 'my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge.'" — Isaac Asimov
Myrmidon
Profile Blog Joined December 2004
United States9452 Posts
August 15 2011 23:26 GMT
#9755
btw if $500 is too much, you really only need about $325 for a system (no OS or case included) for parts that can run SC2 pretty well on medium, for example. A 6200 is still well below "minimum" specs to play most recent games. I mean, you could get a Radeon HD 4650 AGP card for like $75 that could handle many games on medium, but the rest of your computer still wouldn't be up for the task.
epikAnglory
Profile Blog Joined April 2011
United States1120 Posts
August 15 2011 23:48 GMT
#9756
http://secure.newegg.com/WishList/PublicWishDetail.aspx?WishListNumber=18395226
Ignore the PSU and the OS, the total is $474 with mail-in rebate (I spent 20 on a PSU, so 494). Is there any way I can save money AND get the same performance with a cheaper price with this build? HDMI is a requirement.

Ty before hand
710+ Posts with a Probe Icon =D
skyR
Profile Joined July 2009
Canada13817 Posts
August 15 2011 23:56 GMT
#9757
Get less expensive memory: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145322

Don't get a graphics card.

Get a H61 motherboard instead.

Get a 500GB HDD. I know you said previously before 1TB was for downloading content but you also mentioned that he deletes it. So the only way your dad can fill up a 1TB HDD when he regularly deletes content would be to download raw blu-ray 1080p movies which are roughly 50gb in size. A 1080p movie in MKV or AVI is roughly 10gb to 30gb in size and 42 minute 720p broadcasts are roughly 1.2gb in size.
JingleHell
Profile Blog Joined March 2011
United States11308 Posts
Last Edited: 2011-08-15 23:58:07
August 15 2011 23:57 GMT
#9758
On August 16 2011 08:48 epikAnglory wrote:
http://secure.newegg.com/WishList/PublicWishDetail.aspx?WishListNumber=18395226
Ignore the PSU and the OS, the total is $474 with mail-in rebate (I spent 20 on a PSU, so 494). Is there any way I can save money AND get the same performance with a cheaper price with this build? HDMI is a requirement.

Ty before hand


You could cut the GPU, but that loses you some options where HD video stuff is concerned.

SB IGP isn't exactly great for higher end video stuff. But then, we're also talking stuff you have to be nuts about video to care about.
Myrmidon
Profile Blog Joined December 2004
United States9452 Posts
August 16 2011 00:01 GMT
#9759
On August 16 2011 08:57 JingleHell wrote:
Show nested quote +
On August 16 2011 08:48 epikAnglory wrote:
http://secure.newegg.com/WishList/PublicWishDetail.aspx?WishListNumber=18395226
Ignore the PSU and the OS, the total is $474 with mail-in rebate (I spent 20 on a PSU, so 494). Is there any way I can save money AND get the same performance with a cheaper price with this build? HDMI is a requirement.

Ty before hand


You could cut the GPU, but that loses you some options where HD video stuff is concerned.

SB IGP isn't exactly great for higher end video stuff. But then, we're also talking stuff you have to be nuts about video to care about.


Yeah it really depends on the video needs, like decoding features and so on. For most users I think an i5-2400 could really handle whatever they want to do by itself without hardware acceleration.

btw that's a 5400 rpm drive, which is really not advised for a main drive running the OS.

Personally I think the chassis is a bit tacky with the blue trim and side window, though I can't really guess what your dad would think. I'd suggest also looking at the Fractal Design Core 1000 for the same price, which is smaller too:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811352009
flavorless
Profile Joined August 2010
United States59 Posts
Last Edited: 2011-08-16 00:18:38
August 16 2011 00:10 GMT
#9760
Are there any previous builds around 325-350 that you remember the location of? If you don't remember any, I'll just get searching.
"Anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that 'my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge.'" — Isaac Asimov
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