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On September 24 2011 06:05 Thorakh wrote:Show nested quote +On September 24 2011 05:53 Wabbit wrote:On September 24 2011 05:43 Thorakh wrote:It's not just to play SC2, it's to play any game that comes out in the near future on max settings  SC2 is one of the most CPU-demanding games around. Some others (like Metro 2033 with PhysX enabled to be done by the CPU) also benefit greatly. An i5 2500 will handle those games just fine without minimum frame rates dropping low. New games will probably be fine for a while as well (if your goal is to maintain FPS as close to or over 60 as possible) However, in my personal opinion, OC is a $100 investment now that's worth it because: 1) While Ivy Bridge will most likely also be on the same 1155 socket, you'd have to spend an extra ~$200+ (on an IB CPU) to see a noticeable difference over a Sandy bridge CPU you can get now for the same ~$200, and it's unlikely the performance difference will be over 20% or so 2) OC'ing can give you like 30% or more performance now as opposed to later (in games that are CPU bottlenecked, which may happen because you're getting a 6970), for less price, and as long as you don't go overboard on the OC, the CPU's lifespan will probably not be shortened enough before you want to replace it again (4-5 years). 3) Your budget seems to allow for it. Alright, thanks How much could I reliable overclock an i5-2500K for? Would I need additional cooling (A fan? A heatsink?) for a reliable overclock and if so, what would be recommended? Is the 500W PSU I included in my build enough and is the motherboard I picked a good choice?
I'd reccommend a coolermaster 212+, or a gaia as an aftermarket cooler (both are $30)
If you get one of those, you could easily get it from 3.3ghz up to about 4.4-4.5ghz
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Around like 4.5 GHz on like 1.3V (what's possible is different on a chip-by-chip basis) should be possible with most samples and reasonable for long-term usage. There may be other motherboards that are cheaper that can do the same thing, but that's not grossly overpriced or anything like that.
You would require additional cooling in the form of a decent aftermarket heatsink in the 20-25 euros range. Any one of the tower style coolers with a included 120mm fan should work. It doesn't take much for the kind of overclock above, for a i5-2500k.
Because of the additional costs it may not be the best price/performance choice or recommended to those on a tighter budget, but neither is a HD 6970. If you're going for this level of performance, it's a recommended choice and definitely in line with the other components you're choosing.
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On September 24 2011 06:05 Thorakh wrote:Alright, thanks How much could I reliable overclock an i5-2500K for? Would I need additional cooling (A fan? A heatsink?) for a reliable overclock and if so, what would be recommended? Is the 500W PSU I included in my build enough and is the motherboard I picked a good choice?
The PSU is enough. A stock 2500k uses like 65W under load. A reasonable OC probably won't even push it past 100, and a 6970 uses probably around 200W full load. You'll have a hard time exceeding 300W on the 12V.
A $30 HSF (Heatsink&Fan) such as the Xigmatek Gaia or CoolerMaster Hyper 212+ will handle moderate OC's just fine.
Since you're getting an ASUS mobo, I suggest reading this thread:
http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1578110
It doesn't have to be complicated though, only for higher OC's. You can most likely just set the multiplier to 44, leave everything else on Auto and you'll be fine.
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On September 24 2011 05:17 Kinetik_Inferno wrote:Show nested quote +On September 24 2011 04:22 Shikyo wrote:On September 24 2011 03:11 Kinetik_Inferno wrote:I've finalized a build! Thank god this hell of figuring out a computer is finally over (that is, if you guys don't find any issues). I checked everything I could think of. I checked both newegg and Amazon for prices, so I will be buying from both. Well, here you go: The Build+ Show Spoiler +Case: Cooler Master SGC-6000-KXN1-GP Storm Sniper ATX Mid Tower Gaming Case (Black) Motherboard: ASRock P67 EXTREME4 GEN3 LGA 1155 Intel P67 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard Processor: Intel Core i5-2500 Processor 3.3GHz 6 MB Cache Socket LGA1155 OS: Microsoft Windows 7 Professional SP1 64-bit - OEM Main Drive: Crucial 64 GB m4 2.5-Inch Solid State Drive SATA 6Gb/s CT064M4SSD2 Storage Drive: Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 1 TB 7200RPM SATA 6Gb/s with NCQ 32MB Cache 3.5 Inch Internal Bare Drive ST31000524AS Graphics Card: SAPPHIRE 100312-3SR Radeon HD 6950 Dirt3 Edition 2GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card with Eyefinity PSU: SeaSonic S12II 520 Bronze 520W ATX12V V2.3 / EPS 12V V2.91 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC Power Supply RAM: 8GB G.Skill DDR3 PC3-12800 1600MHz Sniper Series (9-9-9-24) Dual Channel kit F3-12800CL9D-8GBSR HSF: Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus 120mm Sleeve CPU Cooler, RR-B10-212P-G1 Monitor: HP Promo LA2405WG LCD Monitor Disk Drive: LITE-ON Black IDE DVD-ROM Drive Model iHDP118-04 - OEM Total Cost: 1529.79$ I wanted a really kick-ass computer capable of handling every game on the market at max settings AND RECORD THEM with ease. I intend to do a lot of uploading and recording, and kind of dabbling into video editing, but nothing extreme. I also wanted a computer that I wouldn't get frustrated with because it was lagging or failing. I do not intend to overclock, at all.
I also wanted to keep it open for upgrades, however. I have a GEN 3 motherboard so that I'm ready for the Ivy bridge processors without having to upgrade the mobo. The motherboard's also has tons of features, most of them I'll need, and several more that I might in the future, so I have options. I got a P67 because the Radeon 6950 will handle everything I'm going to throw at it, and from what I understand, limiting only discrete graphics cards to graphics processing will allow the CPU to process CPU tasks, and nothing else. Any advice on fine-tuning this build is greatly appreciated! Also please check the compatibility of the parts as my expertise is fairly limited and I may have missed something. Thanks to all who helped me with this and fed me all the advice and information I needed! Then you shouldn't get that CPU, mobo, or that cooler. By the way, 300 dollars for a 1920x1080 screen is way more than what I'd pay but I guess it's your choice. Also get the Gigabyte factory overclocked card instead of Sapphire, on newegg its 240$ 220$ after mailin rebate and has a decent overclock and a great cooler: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125385Change your mobo into this as you won't overclock: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157254Change your cpu into the i5 2500 without k, 195$ with promo EMCKAHK26: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115073This ram is 38$ with promo code EMCKAHH27: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231422Change Professional to windows home premium, it's really only useful if you need more than 16GB of ram or if you need the extra features that tend to be useless. Storage drive doesn't require 7200 RPM but the deal is fine so not too much wrong with that. However, this HDD is 500GB larger for only 5$ more with promo code EMCKAHH25: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148725This PSU is completely fine at 55$ and you get 10% off with promo code PSUSV9 and another 10$ after mail-in rebate, making it cost only around 41$: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817815009I don't understand why you think you need a Storm Sniper that costs 140$ when you're not even overclocking, something like CM 690 II Advanced is more than good enough at 90$, 80 after MIR: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119216It puzzles me that you had supposedly asked around and still had a lot of glaring flaws in your build like a K-suffix processor and aftermarket cooler when you're not overclocking. Anything I missed? Thank you very much! You probably saved me 100 dollars right there. What Monitor would you suggest for 1920x1200? I don't care if it has a glossy screen or not, nor do I care if it has HDMI as long as it has DVI. I'll be using headsets/separate speakers anyway.
I got some cheap 1920x1080 22" acer that's like 120 bucks, I guess it's not optimal but it never heats and it doesn't stretch in 640x480, instead crops the screen and I don't notice any delay either, I really don't think it's a good idea to spend 200 dollars more for something so marginal. Of course if you find better stuff around that price range you should buy it but I wouldn't spend 200 extra on 2 inches.
By the way if you follow all my recommendations you'll save much more than 100.
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Hey guys, I can finally afford a computer! I would love to hear your recommendations and gosu knowledge regarding a good laptop.
I have a $350 budget and I'm looking for a laptop with 14'' minimum screen (unless there's a crazy-good $200 netbook deal) 15''/15.6'' is preferred.
The purpose for this laptop is music, school, streams & video (720p), and it MUST be able to handle SC2 on low!
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$350 budget will get you a laptop with a discrete GPU.
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On September 24 2011 07:06 ragnasaur wrote:
Hey guys, I can finally afford a computer! I would love to hear your recommendations and gosu knowledge regarding a good laptop.
I have a $350 budget and I'm looking for a laptop with 14'' minimum screen (unless there's a crazy-good $200 netbook deal) 15''/15.6'' is preferred.
The purpose for this laptop is music, school, streams & video (720p), and it MUST be able to handle SC2 on low!
Any current laptop can handle watching streams at 720p. However, you won't be able to find any laptops in that budget range that aren't refurbished I don't think that can handle SC2 on low, as $350 is usually the starting price on most notebooks (non-netbooks) that are new, and that's without tax (or any electronic waste fee that may be applied to whereever you live). It's simply not practical. At least not in the states, no idea where you are.
You might be able to find an i3 sandybridge laptop in that price range before tax, as I believe the Intel HD Graphics 3000 can handle SC2 on low. I just don't think that they are ever priced in the $350 range.
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How strong is the dollar in Zimbabwe? If you think $350 can get you a laptop worth a damn, it might almost be worth paying for shipping to here...
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On September 24 2011 07:06 ragnasaur wrote:
Hey guys, I can finally afford a computer! I would love to hear your recommendations and gosu knowledge regarding a good laptop.
I have a $350 budget and I'm looking for a laptop with 14'' minimum screen (unless there's a crazy-good $200 netbook deal) 15''/15.6'' is preferred.
The purpose for this laptop is music, school, streams & video (720p), and it MUST be able to handle SC2 on low!
is zimbabwe accurate?
Btw my dad just bought a Linux laptop for 250 euros that's got 8gb of ram, a decent dual core processor and integrated graphics
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He said $350 so I assumed either USD or CAD, which are pretty damn similar.
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Hello once again tech support thread. I am about to make a newegg purchase and I wanted to make sure everything was compatible with my rig.
My rig:
Athlon II X4 630 2.82 GHz
Radeon HD 5850
4GB RAM
ASUS M4A785TD-V EVO AM3
Antec 650W 80 PLUS
I am buying new processor and doubling my RAM:
AMD Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition Deneb 3.4GHz 4 x 512KB L2 Cache 6MB L3 Cache Socket AM3 125W Quad-Core Processor
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103727
and
G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231277
Fairly simple upgrades, right? All compatible, easy to install? BF3 beta-ready?
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+ Show Spoiler +I'd reccommend a coolermaster 212+, or a gaia as an aftermarket cooler (both are $30)
If you get one of those, you could easily get it from 3.3ghz up to about 4.4-4.5ghz Around like 4.5 GHz on like 1.3V (what's possible is different on a chip-by-chip basis) should be possible with most samples and reasonable for long-term usage. There may be other motherboards that are cheaper that can do the same thing, but that's not grossly overpriced or anything like that.
You would require additional cooling in the form of a decent aftermarket heatsink in the 20-25 euros range. Any one of the tower style coolers with a included 120mm fan should work. It doesn't take much for the kind of overclock above, for a i5-2500k.
Because of the additional costs it may not be the best price/performance choice or recommended to those on a tighter budget, but neither is a HD 6970. If you're going for this level of performance, it's a recommended choice and definitely in line with the other components you're choosing. The PSU is enough. A stock 2500k uses like 65W under load. A reasonable OC probably won't even push it past 100, and a 6970 uses probably around 200W full load. You'll have a hard time exceeding 300W on the 12V. A $30 HSF (Heatsink&Fan) such as the Xigmatek Gaia or CoolerMaster Hyper 212+ will handle moderate OC's just fine. Since you're getting an ASUS mobo, I suggest reading this thread: http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1578110It doesn't have to be complicated though, only for higher OC's. You can most likely just set the multiplier to 44, leave everything else on Auto and you'll be fine.
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It doesn't support 1600 memory and why would you change the processor, the difference is neglicible. Get a CPU cooler as its a black edition as that's a total waste of money if you do that change without OCing.
Oh and that memory is overpriced as fuck if I may add.
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you already have 4gb of ram, why not upgrade to 8gb rather than replacing it with 4gb?
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On September 24 2011 08:04 ragnasaur wrote:
you already have 4gb of ram, why not upgrade to 8gb rather than replacing it with 4gb?
hey it has 4 slots and I assume only 2 are used
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so tempting to get 2nd hawk @ 100$.............
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On September 24 2011 11:32 Bambipwnsu wrote:
so tempting to get 2nd hawk @ 100$.............
I'm tempted to get 4 more 460s at those prices, and go hex-SLI. Although I'd rather do it with 590s.
+ Show Spoiler +They only go 2-way. But it's funny if you were there.
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...I want 8 ASUS MARS IIs for dat octo-SLI performance...
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If we were in China we could rig up 37.32 googols of them to make the worlds fastest supercomputer!
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EPT
