|
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. |
A question about mainboards:
Is there a noticable difference in speed when I buy a cheap mainboard with less "features" (like less ram slots, less PCI slots, etc.) and more expensive mainboards? What I mean is: Is there any difference besides those mainboards besides those less features?
I need a new mainboard for my i5-2500k and Radeon HD 6850 (Sapphire) and I'd like to have it as cheap as possible - I don't need more than 1 PCI-e slot, 1 PCI slot, 1 SATA connector for my HDD and 2 ram slots for 4gb of DDR3 (2x2).
I've come across a couple of mainboards which are as cheap as 50€, but I'm afraid that I'll speed issues with them (maybe the bus between CPU and GPU or something?). Are my fears warranted?
As an example (it's in German but the mainboard name should stay the same internationally) here's a micro ATX board which would suit my needs in terms of features:
http://www.amazon.de/P8H61-M-Rev-3-0-Mainboard-Socket-Speicher/dp/B004RBYPN6/ref=sr_1_16?s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1322726423&sr=1-16
it's 60€.
And here's the one I had before, but I've already bought it two times and it broke twice after 3 months or so of operation (I already made sure it was the mainboards fault):
http://www.amazon.de/MSI-PH67A-C43-7673-031R-Mainboard-Speicher/dp/B004OXXIVW/ref=sr_1_72?s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1322726501&sr=1-72
Can you see or explain if there's a speed difference between the two mainboards?
|
Just from reading the past 10 to 20 pages here, most will agree that gigabyte doesn't make very good MBs. I myself use a Asorck z68 extreme3 gen3 motherboard and love it. It was like $120 with USB3.0 and 2 6gb SATA ports. It actually is $114 after MIR.
The PSU could probably go cheaper, 650w is a bit more then what you need with your build.
You can get RAM for cheaper.
HDD, some people will say Hitachi is bad, but I have the 1tb version and it seems to run pretty good for me.
You should invest $100 into an Crucial m4 64gb SSD. They are absolutely amazing.
Great deal on the i5-2500k though.
|
On December 01 2011 17:03 heishe wrote:+ Show Spoiler +A question about mainboards: Is there a noticable difference in speed when I buy a cheap mainboard with less "features" (like less ram slots, less PCI slots, etc.) and more expensive mainboards? What I mean is: Is there any difference besides those mainboards besides those less features? I need a new mainboard for my i5-2500k and Radeon HD 6850 (Sapphire) and I'd like to have it as cheap as possible - I don't need more than 1 PCI-e slot, 1 PCI slot, 1 SATA connector for my HDD and 2 ram slots for 4gb of DDR3 (2x2). I've come across a couple of mainboards which are as cheap as 50€, but I'm afraid that I'll speed issues with them (maybe the bus between CPU and GPU or something?). Are my fears warranted? As an example (it's in German but the mainboard name should stay the same internationally) here's a micro ATX board which would suit my needs in terms of features: http://www.amazon.de/P8H61-M-Rev-3-0-Mainboard-Socket-Speicher/dp/B004RBYPN6/ref=sr_1_16?s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1322726423&sr=1-16it's 60€. And here's the one I had before, but I've already bought it two times and it broke twice after 3 months or so of operation (I already made sure it was the mainboards fault): http://www.amazon.de/MSI-PH67A-C43-7673-031R-Mainboard-Speicher/dp/B004OXXIVW/ref=sr_1_72?s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1322726501&sr=1-72Can you see or explain if there's a speed difference between the two mainboards?
The H67 chipset has SATA 6Gbps and the H61 does not. Some manufacturers use third party chipsets for SATA 6Gbps (which obviously aren't as good as Intel's) but that ASUS H61 does not have SATA 6Gbps. The chipsets for USB3 and ethernet will also differ from board to board, higher-end boards tend to use better chipsets for these. Other than that, there's no difference in performance.
|
5930 Posts
IMHO:
SATA chipsets should be native. Not Jmicron or anything because they're not very good.
USB3.0 chipsets should be NEC/Asmedia/Renesas. Etron has a tendency to BSOD.
Third party ethernet chipsets don't really matter anymore. Obviously Intel will be better than Realtek but for typical use consumer use Realtek is perfectly fine.
|
Btw, talking about usb 3, I've had a front panel usb3 jack that I haven't used (haven't had any usb 3 unit) since I got my computer. I recently got a hold of a usb 3 pen drive but the speed from the usb 3 jack is exactly the same as I have on my usb 2 ones. Anyone got any suggestions as to why this is the case? I have the usb 3 controller enabled in the bios.
I'm using this one to connect my front panel usb cable to my motherboard:
http://www.lian-li.com/v2/en/product/product04.php?cl_index=2&sc_index=47&ss_index=141
Could it have something to do with that?
It's not a big deal, it would just be nice to take advantage of the hardware I got.
|
On December 01 2011 17:45 nihlon wrote:Btw, talking about usb 3, I've had a front panel usb3 jack that I haven't used (haven't had any usb 3 unit) since I got my computer. I recently got a hold of a usb 3 pen drive but the speed from the usb 3 jack is exactly the same as I have on my usb 2 ones. Anyone got any suggestions as to why this is the case? I have the usb 3 controller enabled in the bios. I'm using this one to connect my front panel usb cable to my motherboard: http://www.lian-li.com/v2/en/product/product04.php?cl_index=2&sc_index=47&ss_index=141Could it have something to do with that? It's not a big deal, it would just be nice to take advantage of the hardware I got.
I downloaded drivers for the motherboard to use the USB3.0.
|
I think I've installed all drivers from the cd I got with the mobo. Shouldn't this come with the the rest of the drivers? I'll check when I get home though, thanks, it's possible i just missed that.
|
Ooook so I have asked several times now and still am none the wiser. So maybe nobody knows or there is some conspiracy.
I am building a computer, I am pretty much down to getting a case, after working out that a mini tower will likely struggle to accommodate silly big graphics card I was recommended an Aresze Darkcoder 7203B as a budget mid tower. And it is pretty cheap. However I can find practically nothing online.
Current alternative is second hand Lian-Li Lancool pck56 which I would get for cheap, otherwise not quite sure what I should get for a cheap but decent and not overly heavy mid tower case (will need to house 6950, 3.5" hard drive and the like). Sooo priority numero uno would be helping me figure out what the hell the above case is and what it is like, and then if it is bad what would make good relatively cheap case. Thanks in advance.
|
On December 01 2011 18:14 FireSA wrote:
Ooook so I have asked several times now and still am none the wiser. So maybe nobody knows or there is some conspiracy.
I am building a computer, I am pretty much down to getting a case, after working out that a mini tower will likely struggle to accommodate silly big graphics card I was recommended an Aresze Darkcoder 7203B as a budget mid tower. And it is pretty cheap. However I can find practically nothing online.
Current alternative is second hand Lian-Li Lancool pck56 which I would get for cheap, otherwise not quite sure what I should get for a cheap but decent and not overly heavy mid tower case (will need to house 6950, 3.5" hard drive and the like). Sooo priority numero uno would be helping me figure out what the hell the above case is and what it is like, and then if it is bad what would make good relatively cheap case. Thanks in advance.
I have this case: Thermaltake v9 BlacX Edition and I really like it. It's pretty light weight and has great cooling. Although, when I bought it people said it wasn't that great on here. I really enjoy it though. I love the ability to dock HDDs and SSDs on the top of the case so I can hotswap out any HDD as needed. It's easy to get into and ok cable management though you can't really go around the back of the motherboard.
Here are these:
Lian-Li Lancool mid towers on Newegg
Basically pick what you want. Go to newegg, find a cheap case, post the link here and see what the main posters have to say here.
|
On December 01 2011 18:05 nihlon wrote:
I think I've installed all drivers from the cd I got with the mobo. Shouldn't this come with the the rest of the drivers? I'll check when I get home though, thanks, it's possible i just missed that.
I didn't use the CD that came with the MB. I downloaded them all from the website. One of the drivers was for the USB 3.0 usage.
|
Just going to ask this question again since it seems to have been lost in the shuffle:
is there anyway to tell if any parts are doa or will be a problem if I don't plan to build it until late dec/early january. I purchased a case (coolermaster 430) and an aftermarket cooler (212+), and was wondering if there was any way I could tell if they were working properly without having to build my computer. (also I have no power supply)
Second question:
What would be the best motherboard for a i52500k + HD radeon 6870 + 8 GB RAM(2X4) that would fit in my case, and run fine off an antec earthwatts 520W power supply. i do plan to overclock my cpu.
At the moment, I have selected this :MSI P67S-C43 (B3).
I would like the price range to be around 60-80 dollars (when on sale or 100 if not).
Thank you for any help you can give me
|
On December 01 2011 18:39 spscannon wrote:
Just going to ask this question again since it seems to have been lost in the shuffle:
is there anyway to tell if any parts are doa or will be a problem if I don't plan to build it until late dec/early january. I purchased a case (coolermaster 430) and an aftermarket cooler (212+), and was wondering if there was any way I could tell if they were working properly without having to build my computer. (also I have no power supply)
Second question:
What would be the best motherboard for a i52500k + HD radeon 6870 + 8 GB RAM(2X4) that would fit in my case, and run fine off an antec earthwatts 520W power supply. i do plan to overclock my cpu.
At the moment, I have selected this :MSI P67S-C43 (B3).
I would like the price range to be around 60-80 dollars (when on sale or 100 if not).
Thank you for any help you can give me
1. As for building your pc 'as you go' it is kind of frowned upon here. One of the main reasons being for what you stated, you don't know what you have until you plug it all in and turn it on. Another being that if you just save up then the components will most likely be cheaper in 3 months then if you bought now. But if you can't save money then it may be easier to buy as you go. Most of the items have warranties through their respective companies rather then newegg.
As for 2. Doesn't look like you'll get much cheaper then that MSI one if it's in stock.
Here's an AsRock one
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157229R
|
On December 01 2011 18:39 spscannon wrote:
Just going to ask this question again since it seems to have been lost in the shuffle:
is there anyway to tell if any parts are doa or will be a problem if I don't plan to build it until late dec/early january. I purchased a case (coolermaster 430) and an aftermarket cooler (212+), and was wondering if there was any way I could tell if they were working properly without having to build my computer. (also I have no power supply)
Second question:
What would be the best motherboard for a i52500k + HD radeon 6870 + 8 GB RAM(2X4) that would fit in my case, and run fine off an antec earthwatts 520W power supply. i do plan to overclock my cpu.
At the moment, I have selected this :MSI P67S-C43 (B3).
I would like the price range to be around 60-80 dollars (when on sale or 100 if not).
Thank you for any help you can give me
I'm not sure what you are asking. If you case doesn't look damaged and you got all parts it should be fine. As for the heatsink I guess the fan could be faulty but it's not very likely. As long as the flat space that you'll put on your cpu looks fine, there shouldn't be any problem with the heatsink itself. Or were you asking in general? If you don't have a power source it's pretty hard to test your components more than for physical damages.
If you are not overclocking you should get a cheap h61 or h67 mobo but then you don't need a k-processor and the 212+ would be a waste. If that's what you are getting I really recommend you do overclock, at least moderatly and go for something like a ASRock P67 PRO3. If it's on sale you probably could get it for ~$100. Any atx or micro atx fits your case so as long as you have that size you are fine.
|
Hello! Fellow TL-ers!
I am trying to build or buy a new computer that can play SC2 and D3 with no problem and I would also like to stream at all. It doesn't need to be 1080p but something decent and viewable.
What is your budget?
My price range is around 600-650$ at most. I know that's not much specially for right now but its the best I can do.
During Black Friday I saw this computer NewEgg PC from CyberpowerPC it was 600 but I know that was for the Black Friday clearance but would it be possible to build a computer like that for around 600-650$. Thanks!
What is your resolution?
Right now i have a monitor that is 1440x900. I might upgrade to the standard as of right now the 1920x1200 but that might not be for a while so stay at 1440x900.
What are you using it for?
Gaming and Streaming. That's pretty much it!
What is your upgrade cycle?
I think it is around 2 years.
When do you plan on building it?
Two weeks from this Friday.
Do you plan on overclocking?
Honestly I don't know how to and my friends who have built computers says that it is not worth-it and just lowers the life of your CPU. They may be wrong or right but I do not want to take any chances.
Do you need an Operating System?
Yes but I am splitting with someone so the price will be less damaging.
Do you plan to add a second GPU for SLI or Crossfire?
No I want just one card so it makes things less complicated.
Where are you buying your parts from?
I live in New Jersey and my brother is only 25 minutes from a Microcenter. I can also buy from online so where would I find great deals!..
Thanks for the future help....you can get a hold of me on hear by PM or just email at cDgFocus@gmail.com.....
|
+ Show Spoiler +On December 01 2011 19:06 gruff wrote:Show nested quote +On December 01 2011 18:39 spscannon wrote:
Just going to ask this question again since it seems to have been lost in the shuffle:
is there anyway to tell if any parts are doa or will be a problem if I don't plan to build it until late dec/early january. I purchased a case (coolermaster 430) and an aftermarket cooler (212+), and was wondering if there was any way I could tell if they were working properly without having to build my computer. (also I have no power supply)
Second question:
What would be the best motherboard for a i52500k + HD radeon 6870 + 8 GB RAM(2X4) that would fit in my case, and run fine off an antec earthwatts 520W power supply. i do plan to overclock my cpu.
At the moment, I have selected this :MSI P67S-C43 (B3).
I would like the price range to be around 60-80 dollars (when on sale or 100 if not).
Thank you for any help you can give me I'm not sure what you are asking. If you case doesn't look damaged and you got all parts it should be fine. As for the heatsink I guess the fan could be faulty but it's not very likely. As long as the flat space that you'll put on your cpu looks fine, there shouldn't be any problem with the heatsink itself. Or were you asking in general? If you don't have a power source it's pretty hard to test your components more than for physical damages. If you are not overclocking you should get a cheap h61 or h67 mobo but then you don't need a k-processor and the 212+ would be a waste. If that's what you are getting I really recommend you do overclock, at least moderatly and go for something like a ASRock P67 PRO3. If it's on sale you probably could get it for ~$100. Any atx or micro atx fits your case so as long as you have that size you are fine.
(i'll answer both of the kind people who answered at once)
ah- yea, i was just wondering if in general i could tell if the case was damaged. Yea, i plan to get the rest of the parts at once, but the case/cooler were decently cheap. I actually wanted to build it right away, but wasn't able to get the processor at microcenter, so am waiting until they restock/more sales.
And I was planning to overclock. The cheaper board should be able to handle it just fine as well correct? What is the advantage of upgrading the motherboard? Just more slots for GPU? I'm trying to limit the budget of the computer and only planning to get one GPU. Just wondering what the point is of upgrading to a better board that will be around 30/40 dollars more expensive.
Thanks again for any help you guys are able to give me
|
@heishe-
Pretty much all motherboards are based on intel chipsets, meaning no, quality should stay the same except what you can plug into it. The motherboard you linked should work just as well as a more expensive one. Asus is a respected motherboard manufacturer (then again, I think MSI is too).
I would note that you can't overclock the i5-2500k on H61 & H67 boards - but other than that you're fine.
P.S. There is some smaller differences in overclocking ability on boards with that feature, but in the Hxx area, a board is pretty much just what can be plugged into it.
|
There doesn't seem to be a dedicated laptop thread so I'll ask here..
I'm thinking about buying this: http://www.asus.com/Notebooks/Superior_Mobility/U31SD/#overview
with the following specs: Intel i3-2310M @ 2.1 GHz, 4 GB DDR3 1066MHz, NVIDIA GeForce GT 520M, 1GB, 500 GB 5400rpm SATA.
Going to use it for work and surfing/email mostly. Maybe the occasional movie. Portability is important.
I was wondering if
1) it runs SC2? It might do ok on medium even?
2) anyone has experience with this laptop?
3) it feels cheap?
3) it sux or not?
I'm not looking to get anything super high end. The price range is 500-600 e if anyone wants suggest viable alternatives.
|
5930 Posts
How much are you getting it for? The GT520m is pretty anemic so I doubt it'll run fairly poorly at medium settings. It'll probably be fine at low.
Build quality is so-so and it has the trademark Asus keyboard flex. My friend has one and for a pure work laptop, I'd personally go for a Thinkpad Edge.
On December 01 2011 21:22 MisterFred wrote:
@heishe-
Pretty much all motherboards are based on intel chipsets, meaning no, quality should stay the same except what you can plug into it. The motherboard you linked should work just as well as a more expensive one. Asus is a respected motherboard manufacturer (then again, I think MSI is too).
There is a large difference between low end, high end motherboards and brands. The Intel chipset will be the same but the design is different, BIOS implementation, and chipsets used vary greatly.
|
On December 01 2011 23:01 d00p wrote:There doesn't seem to be a dedicated laptop thread so I'll ask here.. I'm thinking about buying this: http://www.asus.com/Notebooks/Superior_Mobility/U31SD/#overviewwith the following specs: Intel i3-2310M @ 2.1 GHz, 4 GB DDR3 1066MHz, NVIDIA GeForce GT 520M, 1GB, 500 GB 5400rpm SATA. Going to use it for work and surfing/email mostly. Maybe the occasional movie. Portability is important. I was wondering if 1) it runs SC2? It might do ok on medium even? 2) anyone has experience with this laptop? 3) it feels cheap? 3) it sux or not? I'm not looking to get anything super high end. The price range is 500-600 e if anyone wants suggest viable alternatives.
It isn't bad, but couldn't find the price on the website (maybe i'm just blind)
but if for 600€ you could get : http://www4.hardwareversand.de/articledetail.jsp?aid=51264&agid=728
i5-2430m, 8gb ram, gt540m
better cpu (HT), more ram which can sometimes come in handy and a better gpi
For 550€there are models that can be interesting :
one with the i5 and gt520m and anotehr with i3 and gt540m (personally, i'd go with the better cpu, but it also only has 4gb ram compared to the 8 in the other one)
http://www4.hardwareversand.de/articledetail.jsp?aid=49472&agid=728
http://www4.hardwareversand.de/articledetail.jsp?aid=51259&agid=728
or similar at 500€ with a slightly better cpu (cloked 0.2ghz higher basicly)
http://www4.hardwareversand.de/articledetail.jsp?aid=50780&agid=728
So not knowing the price of the one you linked can't know for sure if these are actually better deals or not, but they are the best i could find
all will run sc2 on medium np
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
EPT
