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 September 05 2011 06:40 sungmny wrote: Just one more thing, you didn't give a link to the Seagate Barracuda 500GB so I'm not sure which one I should buy This one? Or this one?
On September 04 2011 17:38 skyR wrote: P67 and Z68 Extreme4 is identical. The only thing that the Z68 chipset offers over the P67 chipset is IGP capabilities and SSD caching. You have a 120GB SSD, you won't be using SSD caching. IGP capabilities may prove to be useful if you have software that uses Quick Sync (read more here).
If you want a high quality 1080p stream than a 2600k is recommended.
Well since you mentioned you don't really have a budget. If this is your first build and after reading through forums and professional articles. And you're still feeling uneasy about the power supply being able to power the configuration than just overspend on the power supply, get a wattmeter or UPS and look at the power consumption yourself, and you'll be better informed next time you need to purchase a power supply.
Keep in mind, only the xbit article refers to DC power for the card alone. The rest of the articles refer to AC power for the entire system. Simple AC to DC conversion, if your power supply is 85% efficient and you're pulling 600w from the wall (AC), that would mean your power supply is only using 510w. Also keep in mind that most of these testbeds are using overclocked Bloomfields which are more power hungry than Sandybridges.
If you're worried about quality than you should stop worrying. Seasonic is one of the top power supply manufacturers. All of XFX power supplies are manufactured by them. Many of the Corsair ones are manufactured by them (including the Corsair TXv2 line, not TXM). Many Antec ones are also manufactured by them. If you're unsure of quality than just look up reviews from jonnyguru (the premiere site for power supplies), hardwaresecrets, anand, pcper, hardocp, etc or simply just ask here.
I think right now a P67 motherboard would be the best objective choice, so I'm looking into those. I've noticed that Asus and ASRock are generally more recommended and higher rated than competitors' motherboards, so I think I'm going to stick to one of those. Any comments on choosing between those two manufacturers (well, ASRock basically is Asus...)?
I found this tool for calculating PSU wattage on NewEgg. If It says I need 520W or so, does that mean if I get a 520W PSU that the PSU will basically be stressed to its limit? Or is the number you get from that leaving some room so that the PSU isn't running at its upper limit?
P.S. That video helped a lot. Thank you.
Asrock is a sister company of ASUS that targets the budget enthausist market. Feature rich boards, shorter warranty, and less expensive. They're still two seperate companies so don't expect the same level of post-sale support from Asrock (since they are targeted at the budget segment) as you do with ASUS.
Newegg's stupid pricing never ceases to amaze me... if you're going with ASUS, just get the P8P67 Pro for SLI, Intel NIC, and Advance RMA. Only $5 more than the regular P8P67. Unless of course you want to deal with the mail in rebate of the standard P8P67.
Power supply calculators don't give you a load figure, they give you a wattage value that your power supply should be. Yes, it has to account for a huge headroom as not all 500w power supplies are equal. Lower quality / budget ones will have a weaker 12v rail than an extremely high quality one.
Newegg's currently running a special on one of the motherboards already most recommended in this thread: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157249 Edit: Hmm, this is the SE version of that motherboard. So it might not be the one recommended all the time in this thread. Should still be good though.
Your power supply listed a few posts ago would be mild overkill. A quality 400w powersupply would be fine for a system running an overclocked 2500k or 2600k & a 560ti. If you want to save money, you can go with: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139026
Let's be reasonable here... if you have the budget for a 2600k and a GTX 560 Ti. You wouldn't want a piece of shit motherboard with four phases and you wouldn't want a CX430v2... No one enjoys using adapters or daisy chaining because it becomes a nightmare for cable management.
Just because more expensive models don't provide any performance gains doesn't mean you should buy the most basic ones with LazyMacro's non-existant budget in mind. I never understood the people that do this...
Well, it's simple. I have enough money saved to where I can buy whatever computer I like. The problem is, I'm not willing to senselessly waste money to have a flashy case that doubles as a light show for a rave, tons of hardware I pay a premium before because there's nothing better, and so on.
My goal isn't based on price; it's based on the ratio of price to performance. I want a computer that will do what I want it to do in an efficient manner without paying a lot of money just because. My last computer (that a friend basically built for me) was pretty midrange, and with a single GPU upgrade I was able to extend that build's life to almost five years.
Right now, I'm about $1400 for the build I have. I've decided (until someone changes my mind, that is) to go with the ASRock Z68 Extreme4. I won't use all of its features right away, but they're there if I want to use it later. I don't really do anything with multimedia, but my understanding is that the Z68 chipset helps a lot.
I've also decided to go back up to the Corsair TX750 V2 mostly so that I can leave SLI open as an option down the road.
So, my biggest worry now is this: Am I spending money senselessly in the name of having options open later on?
I think maybe I'm getting too hung up on what I may or may not do in a year or two. Maybe I should just buy what will work for me now and in the near future, and worry about the rest later, since I don't know what I'll be doing in two years.
Edit: Along that line of thinking, I'm still thinking I should go down to the P67 Extreme4 and find a 550W PSU. More likely than not, what will end up happening is that I'll get my parts, build the computer, and then in a few years replace the GPU when the 560 Ti is struggling. I'm thinking it's a waste to get all of this extra stuff in the name of flexibility when I likely won't take advantage of those options. :\
There's a blog post I did about enthusiast parts. It's only my opinion, but it may at least help you decide whether it's worth spending extra now to keep options open. (Rarely is, if you don't have specific plans.)
I finally got my hands on a couple of CX430 V2's the other day for some friends/family builds and they were pretty crap quality.
The metal was easily bendable and one even came deformed. I just reshaped it using my bare-hands but I was horrified with the thought that something inside was broken.
I've worked with many PSUs in the past, but I feel like this was the worst possible material ever. Anyone ever noticed this too?
On September 05 2011 09:52 jacosajh wrote: I finally got my hands on a couple of CX430 V2's the other day for some friends/family builds and they were pretty crap quality.
The metal was easily bendable and one even came deformed. I just reshaped it using my bare-hands but I was horrified with the thought that something inside was broken.
I've worked with many PSUs in the past, but I feel like this was the worst possible material ever. Anyone ever noticed this too?
Haven't played with that one, but I've been happy with what I got for the price with every Corsair PSU I've bought. They don't always have the best, but they're usually pretty competitively priced for what you get.
The real question is whether the v2 feels as flimsy as an Apevia product...
Does it matter how the housing of a power supply is? It's protected by the case.
I blame shipping and lack of packaging materials more than the PSU housing, if it came deformed. How did it look like? Seeing how everything is soldered into place, I don't really see any cause for concern unless the box looked more like a triangle than a rectangle. I guess with some really rough handling there could be stress fractures on PCB traces or solder joints? Possibly components ripped from their leads? Seems unlikely.
edit: on second thought, I'd be worried about the fan more than anything else.
There's a blog post I did about enthusiast parts. It's only my opinion, but it may at least help you decide whether it's worth spending extra now to keep options open. (Rarely is, if you don't have specific plans.)
Really, really good blog post.
When I was writing my last post I realized I was spending a lot of extra on things that I don't need, don't want, and probably won't use.
Realistically, I probably won't ever use SSD caching, QuickSync, or half of the connectivity on a Z68 mobo. I probably won't ever add a second GPU later on; I'm a lot more likely to replace my GPU with another down the road.
This is overwhelming. I'm going to take a break and then come back and try to be less "omg but for another $20 I can do this!" and more conscious of price vs. performance.
Remember: If you actually want a feature, there's nothing wrong with paying extra for it. Just make sure it's a feature you've got a reason to use. USB3 is a useless gimmick to most people. Sata6Gb/s is very useful if you get a current gen SSD. (From faster to faster than that, not that you can actually tell how fast all the time.) More GPU? Great, if you play demanding games at or near max. Terrible if you play nothing but SC2 on low.
Hello sexy animals, I need advice on a build I am doing. The parts I have down are:
Motherboard = Asus P8P67 Pro CPU = Intel Core i7 2600 GPU = Sapphire ATI HD6950 HDD = Samsung 1TB Spinpoint F3 Case = Coolermaster RC-692 PSU = Antec ATX EarthWatts 650W Monitor = Benq E2420HD RAM = G Skill 8GB DDR3 1600Mhz (CL9D-8GBRL)
I think that list covers the main parts. I would really appreciate it if anyone could just look over it and confirm that those parts are all compatible etc. I do not plan to overclock which is why I haven't gone for a K series CPU. I am also unsure if I should buy a CPU cooler or use the stock since I am not OC.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
edit: I also plan to use the computer for gaming, and multimedia.
I took some time and decided to look at this again but with the attitude of building a computer for what I want and to get a good value in doing so.
I want to build a gaming computer that will be able to run Bad Company 2, StarCraft 2, and Battlefield 3 well (meaning, I don't want to turn anything down for the sake of framerate).
This is what I'm thinking:
ASRock P67 Extreme4 - P67 for overclocking - NewEgg Customer Choice Award - Tom's Hardware recommendation
Intel i7 2600K - K for overclocking - 2600K rather than 2500K for streaming (?)
MSI GTX 560 Ti OC - Newegg Customer Choice Award - Did well in Tom's Hardware reviews/comparisons - Good performance to price ratio
G.Skill Ripjaws 8GB DDR3 1333 - NewEgg Customer Choice Award - Cheap - On sale
Samsung Spinpoint F3 1TB HDD DVD Burner Windows 7 Home Premium 64 bit Cooler Master Storm Scout
Thoughts/concerns: - I'll need about a 550W PSU for this, if I understand everything correctly. Right? - I'm debating if I want to spend extra for an SSD to use for the OS, games I'm currently playing, etc. What about this SSD? It's a Crucial M4 64GB. - Is it worth the extra cost to go up to a 570 (or higher) to make sure I can run everything really well?
get the ssd! i have one and it rocks. and it is super cheap now. i paid 115 for mine. when u get it tho, make sure u put it in the right mode in your bios and update the firmware.
windows boots up before the windows logo can even appear!
I'm planning to build a computer in a month or two and i have a few questions. How much would i need to spend to get a a computer that can run games that are new, years from now, on my 1024x768 monitor, I have including tax (12% in British Columbia I believe)? Is overclocking worth the cost and/or risk performance wise? If you answer yes to the above could you link me some guides for beginners of overclocking and building.
So, comparing the i5 2500K and the i7 2600K, is it really worth almost another $100 for another 2MB in the L3 cache, .1Ghz, and hyperthreading? My computer will primarily be for gaming, but I do stream from time to time.
Let me preface this by saying that I am a total noob at computers, I have no idea what some of these terms even mean (ex. overclocking), so that's why a lot of answers are "I don't know." Basically, I want a new desktop capable of running SC2 and DotA 2 (when it comes out) at medium-high settings without lagging. It also needs to be able to play blu-rays/movies, do all the normal school related stuff (Microsoft Office), and burn discs, etc.
Before this post I had been consulting with my father and a friend, my friend is good with computers, while my dad has a lot of experience also. My dad has maintained that building a computer is not worth the effort because if something goes wrong I won't know how to fix it, etc; whilst my friend has been urging me the entire time to get a built one because I can get more for my money and he can help me with it.
So my Dad and I had picked out this Acer Predator, but my computer savy friend told me this is not a good computer for the money it costs and that the Graphics Card is terrible (and I've done a bit of searching, it's nvidia's entry-level graphics card).
So I come to you, TL Tech Forum, with a request for advice and tech knowledge. 1) Is maintaining a self-build computer easy (will I need to worry about repairs/upkeep)? I don't want to buy all the parts and then something goes wrong and I have no idea what to do. 2) Is the Acer Predator not a good computer for what I want? and 3) Assuming for some reason that buying the Acer is the worst decision of my life I haven't made yet, I'm going to provide the TL guidelines for building my own computer so I have the option to do that.
So anyways, please help me out! I'm going to post in accordance to what I want in hopes that I get good suggestions, and hopefully some of you can help me out with the other part of my post too. Thanks in advance!
If you request a build, please answer these questions. We will spend as much effort on your build as you spend on your answers to these questions! I urge people to abstain from providing builds unless all the questions are answered.
What is your budget?
$1000 max, less is better
What is your resolution?
I'll be buying a monitor seperate, so whatever my new monitor is. What are you using it for?
Starcraft 2, DotA 2, watching movies, school stuff.
What is your upgrade cycle?
I don't know.
When do you plan on building it?
Sooner is better, prefferably within 1-2 months.
Do you plan on overclocking?
I don't know.
Do you need an Operating System?
Yes, it will need to run Windows 7.
Do you plan to add a second GPU for SLI or Crossfire?
I don't think so (I want a non-integrated graphics card, but I don't need 2, which is what I think this is asking).
Where are you buying your parts from?
Wherever is cheaper, I live in Southern CA so I have access to Fry's and any American based online seller (Newegg, etc).
Oh and last question, I also will be needing a new monitor, I want between 19-23" and less than $200. I had picked out this Asus, is it okay?
Everything I've read has said that a computer with my configuration will need anywhere between 500-600W of power, so I pretty much decided to go with the Corsair TX650 V2. Is this a mistake?
Now I just need to figure out if it's worth it to spend extra for the i7 2600K over the i5 2500K for streaming, and then I need to decide if I want to get an SSD or not.
is there any actual, practical difference between a power supply like the ax750 and the tpn-750? i know the corsair has better internals, better regulation and all that jazz, but does that even matter? will it affect anything? arent both of them so far in spec that the corsair's advantages over the tp are a waste of money?
i guess all im asking is, what do the better components and abilities achieve? is it redundant buying the corsair over the antec? is it something stupid like the ripple from the antec will fustigate the capacitors in 20 years and the corsair in 20 years and a month? i hope im being clear with what im saying