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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. |
Hey guys. Im back again. I ordered everything but Im debating whether to change my PC case. I live in a small place/ Im likely to move so Mid tower size is too big for me. I might switch to Micro ITX tower size but I need to know from you guys whether my parts will fit my new case. I quoted the hardware and posted the link of the new case I want to get
On November 14 2011 22:46 GhostOwl wrote:
Ok. Here is the final decision. I'm about to buy the parts asap.
i3-2120 Processor
Sapphire Radeon HD 6850 - 1GB
Ram Corsair 8 GB DDR3-1333
GIGABYTE GA-H61M-DS2
Western Digital 200AAJB (320GB U100 7200) Hard Drive (Is U100 ok?)
Enermax 450W Power Supply
Antec 300 Case
is it looking compatible? Give me the signal and I'll pull the trigger
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811133187&Tpk=thermaltake armor a30
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If its just the MOBO that is too big, I can return that too. But the graphic card wont fit? 
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Did you look at the case? A30 fits microATX motherboards and is tilted and laid out such that the longest graphics cards are supported.
edit: at that price, I'd much rather have Silverstone TJ08-E though:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811163182
It's taller by a few inches but not as long or wide.
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On November 17 2011 12:36 Myrmidon wrote:Did you look at the case? A30 fits microATX motherboards and is tilted and laid out such that the longest graphics cards are supported.
Bit too lazy look clearly x_X
I guess it should work then...
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i'm using the HWMonitort, what kind of temperatures should i be worry about???
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It depends on what hardware you got. Please be more specific about what you are wondering.
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Hello,
Newbie here. I'm building my first machine and was wondering if I could get some help from you guys.
What is your budget?
At most $3000
What is your resolution?
I wanted to have two screens at 1920x1200.
What are you using it for?
It will be used mostly for music production, some light video editing and gaming of course.
What is your upgrade cycle?
Unsure, but most likely quite long, around 2-3+ years?
When do you plan on building it?
Probably around February or March of 2012.
Do you plan on overclocking?
Most likely not.
Do you need an Operating System?
Yes.
Do you plan to add a second GPU for SLI or Crossfire?
No.
Where are you buying your parts from?
I'm in Australia, and I will most likely buy the parts online from PC Case Gear. If necessary, I could also get them from Newegg and then use a forwarding service. If anybody could recommend another good store that would be very much appreciated.
I've already put together a build, but I am sure a lot of the parts are overkill, and I am also unsure on some of the parts as well.
Build
CPU:
Intel Core i7-2600K Sandy Bridge 3.4GHz (3.8GHz Turbo Boost) LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics 3000 BX80623I72600K
RAM:
CORSAIR XMS3 16GB (4 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model CMX16GX3M4A1600C9
SSD:
OCZ Vertex 3 VTX3-25SAT3-120G 2.5" 120GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)
PSU:
CORSAIR Enthusiast Series TX750 V2 750W ATX12V v2.31/ EPS12V v2.92 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC High Performance Power Supply
Case:
LIAN LI PC-A77F Black Aluminum ATX Full Tower Computer Case
Heatsink:
Prolimatech PRO-MGH-C Megahalems Revision C CPU Cooler
Firewire Card:
SYBA PCI-Express 1394 FireWire Card Model SD-PEX-FWB
HDDs:
Two of Western Digital Caviar Black WDBAAZ0020HNC-NRSN 2TB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.5" Internal Hard Drive
GPU:
Unsure
Motherboard:
Unsure
Some questions and additional info:
1. Are there any special requirements for using a setup with two LCDs (will I need a more powerful GPU or need two HDMI outputs for example)?
2. If possible, I would like to have a silent PC. Would I be able to achieve this with the current build or do I require something higher range such as liquid cooling? Or would I have to sacrifice anything such as CPU power?
3. I'm planning to use an audio interface via firewire for production work, but would you recommend getting a pci card for more general uses such as gaming? I've heard from a friend that he had a lot of trouble getting the drivers for the audio interface to work with various games.
4. I was planning on getting Windows 7, but would you recommend waiting for Windows 8 instead?
5. Could you recommend a suitable GPU and motherboard for my needs? Because I have a pretty long upgrade cycle should I go for something more high range?
6. Are all the listed parts compatible? I checked myself, but I would rather somebody more experienced make sure just in case.
7. Are there any other parts you recommend adding to the build or any parts you think I should change for another part?
8. (edit) If in the future I wish to add more HDDs, would this be possible?
Thank you very much.
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On November 17 2011 18:54 DeSu wrote:
Some questions and additional info:
1. Are there any special requirements for using a setup with two LCDs (will I need a more powerful GPU or need two HDMI outputs for example)?
No, in general this should work fine. The number and type of outputs on a graphics card differs between various models, so check in advance which connections your specific card has. AMD Radeon cards are well-suited for multi-monitor work, some can even support up to 6 monitors. My 1.5 yr old budget Radeon card has 2 HDMI ports and 1 DVI port. Already plenty for dual-screen work. I don't have experience with nVidias multi-monitor support. Note that if you want to play games that span both monitors, the demands on the graphics card go up considerably, but usually in a dual-monitor case you have your game running on just 1 screen.
2. If possible, I would like to have a silent PC. Would I be able to achieve this with the current build or do I require something higher range such as liquid cooling? Or would I have to sacrifice anything such as CPU power?
If you don't plan on overclocking you should be able to get a relatively silent PC with a high quality third party air-cooler.
3. I'm planning to use an audio interface via firewire for production work, but would you recommend getting a pci card for more general uses such as gaming? I've heard from a friend that he had a lot of trouble getting the drivers to work with various games.
A separate pci audio card is overkill for gaming, but should not create any issues. Before all motherboards started incorporating sound-chips, we all had to work with separate cards and that worked fine.
4. I was planning on getting Windows 7, but would you recommend waiting for Windows 8 instead?
Personal preference, but I don't feel that there's anything in Win8 that is particularly worth waiting for.
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On November 17 2011 18:54 DeSu wrote:
Hello,
Newbie here. I'm building my first machine and was wondering if I could get some help from you guys.
What is your budget?
At most $3000
What is your resolution?
I wanted to have two screens at 1920x1200.
What are you using it for?
It will be used mostly for music production, some light video editing and gaming of course.
What is your upgrade cycle?
Unsure, but most likely quite long, around 2-3+ years?
When do you plan on building it?
Probably around February or March of 2012.
Do you plan on overclocking?
Most likely not.
Do you need an Operating System?
Yes.
Do you plan to add a second GPU for SLI or Crossfire?
No.
Where are you buying your parts from?
I'm in Australia, and I will most likely buy the parts online from PC Case Gear. If necessary, I could also get them from Newegg and then use a forwarding service. If anybody could recommend another good store that would be very much appreciated.
I've already put together a build, but I am sure a lot of the parts are overkill, and I am also unsure on some of the parts as well.
Build
CPU:
Intel Core i7-2600K Sandy Bridge 3.4GHz (3.8GHz Turbo Boost) LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics 3000 BX80623I72600K
RAM:
CORSAIR XMS3 16GB (4 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model CMX16GX3M4A1600C9
SSD:
OCZ Vertex 3 VTX3-25SAT3-120G 2.5" 120GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)
PSU:
CORSAIR Enthusiast Series TX750 V2 750W ATX12V v2.31/ EPS12V v2.92 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC High Performance Power Supply
Case:
LIAN LI PC-A77F Black Aluminum ATX Full Tower Computer Case
Heatsink:
Prolimatech PRO-MGH-C Megahalems Revision C CPU Cooler
Firewire Card:
SYBA PCI-Express 1394 FireWire Card Model SD-PEX-FWB
HDDs:
Two of Western Digital Caviar Black WDBAAZ0020HNC-NRSN 2TB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.5" Internal Hard Drive
GPU:
Unsure
Motherboard:
Unsure
Some questions and additional info:
1. Are there any special requirements for using a setup with two LCDs (will I need a more powerful GPU or need two HDMI outputs for example)?
2. If possible, I would like to have a silent PC. Would I be able to achieve this with the current build or do I require something higher range such as liquid cooling? Or would I have to sacrifice anything such as CPU power?
3. I'm planning to use an audio interface via firewire for production work, but would you recommend getting a pci card for more general uses such as gaming? I've heard from a friend that he had a lot of trouble getting the drivers for the audio interface to work with various games.
4. I was planning on getting Windows 7, but would you recommend waiting for Windows 8 instead?
5. Could you recommend a suitable GPU and motherboard for my needs? Because I have a pretty long upgrade cycle should I go for something more high range?
6. Are all the listed parts compatible? I checked myself, but I would rather somebody more experienced make sure just in case.
7. Are there any other parts you recommend adding to the build or any parts you think I should change for another part?
8. (edit) If in the future I wish to add more HDDs, would this be possible?
Thank you very much.
Almost any recent card should be able to tun 2 monitors, might need to use adapters.
Silent PC is achievable. Liquid cooling actually isn't silent because of the pump and it has fans as well.
You could get a xonar DG I guess for headphones
Win8 is imo the new vista, I wouldn't wait.
What are your needs?
Sure
Well, I'd get 2700k instead of 2600k if you're overclocking, just plain 2600 if you aren't. However, you really should overclock in my opinion, assuming you have intensive uses for the CPUs.
Also, what are you using hyperthreading for? If you have no proper use for it, you'd be fine with a 2500k and could safe 100$ or so. The power supply also is way overkill, something like 550W would be good assuming you're overclocking and going with a very high-end card. Otherwise 450W is enough.
Caviar Blacks are too costly, try buying cheap Green 5400 RPM drives. However, what I would do for this kind of a relatively high-end build is just buy an SSD right now and then buy the hard drives way later, when the prices become normal again. You're wasting like 150$ per hard drive there.
Also please say what you're using the computer for. You even mentioned your needs but I have no idea what you need.
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5930 Posts
A forwarding service would probably cost more than if you bought it here haha. You have problems with customs as well or at least I have issues with customs when I order expensive gear stuff from B&H.
2. If possible, I would like to have a silent PC. Would I be able to achieve this with the current build or do I require something higher range such as liquid cooling? Or would I have to sacrifice anything such as CPU power?
Its not difficult if you're not overclocking. What you do is buy a really huge heatsink and have a 120mm rear exhaust fan spin slowly. Doing this, you have a really quiet computer that is essentially "silent".
3. I'm planning to use an audio interface via firewire for production work, but would you recommend getting a pci card for more general uses such as gaming? I've heard from a friend that he had a lot of trouble getting the drivers to work with various games.
Get a Firewire card for production work and just use the integrated audio. If the integrated audio sucks, get a sound card. Integrated audio isn't half bad these days, its easily usable.
4. I was planning on getting Windows 7, but would you recommend waiting for Windows 8 instead?
No one exactly knows when Windows 8 is going to land. I don't see any reason to wait considering Windows 8 doesn't really bring much to the desktop table.
5. Could you recommend a suitable GPU and motherboard for my needs? Because I have a pretty long upgrade cycle should I go for something more high range?
Some audio/video editing software are capable of using nVidia's CUDA technology in neat ways. Can your software harness the power of CUDA? If so, you might want to look into getting a GTX570. Otherwise, a GTX560 Ti or HD6950 is what you should be looking at.
As for motherboard, how many PCI/PCIe devices do you want to have? Can your software use QuickSync? Are you sure you don't want to overclock? Once you answer that, it'll be easy to give you a suitable motherboard.
Either way, if you are overclocking I'd stick with Asus for the slick BIOS and great power delivery. If you're not I'll stick with Intel motherboards because they are absolutely rock solid. Your budget is absolutely massive so I wouldn't try and save $20 just to get an lesser motherboard.
8. (edit) If in the future I wish to add more HDDs, would this be possible?
If your motherboard has the ports, I can't see why not. If you case runs out of room quickly, you can buy a hot swap cage off eBay or something where hard drives essentially become huge floppy disks.
7. Are there any other parts you recommend adding to the build or any parts you think I should change for another part?
- Ditch the Prolimatech cooler for something like a Thermalright HR-02 Macho. Large enough you can run it passive easily.
- Personally I'd swap that Lian Li case for an Antec P280, which should be extremely quiet out of the box. I can't fault you for wanting to stick with the Lian Li, however.
- Get an Antec/Corsair 500W PSU. Antec and Corsair distributors in Melbourne are generally pretty good with the whole customer service thing.
- If you need a fast 7200RPM drive for music production, I'd stick with Caviar Blues and not Blacks. Blacks are extremely expensive for what you get...not a whole lot except a lot of noise. If you just need loads to storage, stick with Caviar Greens.
- Swap the OCZ SSD out for a Crucial M4 or Intel 320. OCZ's customer service isn't all that fantastic and their business practices in the past have been rather dodgy.
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edit: nevermind, all the replies came while I wrote this
On November 17 2011 21:48 Rannasha wrote:
If you don't plan on overclocking you should be able to get a relatively silent PC with a high quality third party air-cooler.
Thanks, do you have any recommendations? Would this do the trick?
No, in general this should work fine. The number and type of outputs on a graphics card differs between various models, so check in advance which connections your specific card has. AMD Radeon cards are well-suited for multi-monitor work, some can even support up to 6 monitors. My 1.5 yr old budget Radeon card has 2 HDMI ports and 1 DVI port. Already plenty for dual-screen work. I don't have experience with nVidias multi-monitor support. Note that if you want to play games that span both monitors, the demands on the graphics card go up considerably, but usually in a dual-monitor case you have your game running on just 1 screen.
Are dual screen setups generally done with a single GPU with 2 HDMI outputs? I searched around a bit and couldn't find a card with two HDMI ports, and I read somewhere that it could only be done with two GPUs.
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5930 Posts
Those Zalman coil coolers are absolutely nasty things: the coils are sharp and the fan isn't replaceable. What you want is the the largest slab of aluminium you can find.
Use a DVI <-> HDMI adapter. Its like $10 from your random computer store like MSY or PCDIY.
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5930 Posts
If you're going to get that Arctic cooling low profile cooler, you might as well just stick with the Intel stock cooler. All it is is literally a Pentium 4 era stock heatsink.
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It's quiet. That's the only purpose.
By the way, Thermalright Macho isn't the same HR-02 that's designed for passive cooling, it's significantly smaller. Though it should still be able to run passive, just saying.
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5930 Posts
But it isn't really? It performs a little bit better because there's more metal to it than the wimpy Intel coolers of today but at the end of the day its basically an old school stock cooler - in fact, its acoustically very similar to the stock coolers that came with the old Pentium D.
Anyone can see that Arctic cooling hasn't done anything special with this product. The two options is stick with the stock cooler or get something massive.
By the way, Thermalright Macho isn't the same HR-02 that's designed for passive cooling, it's significantly smaller. Though it should still be able to run passive, just saying.
Thermalright's website claims otherwise. The two HR-02s have identical dimensions. They haven't even changed the Technical Spec image, presumably because there is zero reason to do so. Even the weight is, supposedly, identical.
Thermalright just went cheap on the presentation, heatpipe quality, packaging, and base quality. If there was an actual size difference, I'd really want to know what Thermalright added to the HR-02 Macho to allow it to pretty much match the original HR-02's performance while decreasing the cost and size at the same time.
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Macho:
140×160×102mm, 860g
HR-02:
140×160×110mm, 1100g
Don't get me wrong though, I believe Macho is the most cost-effective way to cool passively. Just saying it's not the same.
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5930 Posts
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EPT
