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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. |
On September 23 2010 04:35 Myrmidon wrote:Show nested quote +On September 23 2010 03:17 Zero.Tha.Hero wrote:
Hi CBR thread. My friend has asked me to build him a baseline gaming rig (tower only) in the seven to eight hundred dollar range. However, I have been out of the hardware market for a few years and I need some reccomendations for maximizing the performance potential without overspending wastefully on overkill components. Parts availability and price guideline are both western canada. I'm always a little hazy on estimating Canadian taxes and shipping costs, but are there local stores where you live? If not, ncix.com should have all the parts you need, and you can take advantage of their price match feature. For around that much money, you're looking for: AMD Phenom II X4 Socket AM3 motherboard (USB3 support would be nice) GTX 460 768MB 2x2 GB DDR3 RAM 400W PSU (a quality 400W is already safe--over 500W is way overkill) and a HDD, optical drive, and case. If that's over budget when including taxes and shipping, bringing the CPU down to an Athlon II X3 should fix the problem. The difference should be fairly small for most games, but some games are relatively demanding on the CPU compared to the GPU and vice versa. It depends. Another place to save money would be to downgrade the GTX 460 to a HD 5770, another good price/performance pick.
This is almost the same thing as my rig with a few upgrades, but definitely do not skimp on your power supply.
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On September 24 2010 12:04 skyR wrote:@yunholee here's a list of ddr3 1600mhz memory: http://ncix.com/products/index.php?minorcatid=1303&subminorcatid=475&po=0&ps=2If you just want 4GB ram, why not just go with the P55 chipset instead of the X58? You can run all that on 500w. If you plan on adding another card for SLI, go for ~700W. There are better cases than the antec 900. If your friend lives in the GTA, have him check out some of the doorcrasher items at the grand opening at scarborough's skycity plaza tomoro (friday). There's also going to be a online sale as well starting tomoro. Unfortunately, SSD prices won't drop until intel releases their g3 SSDs (sometime in q1 2011).
except that all of those 4GB DDR3 1600 are only compatible(sp?) with the P55 and from what i saw the P55 motherboards are for LGA1156 and the i7 950 is a LGA1366 T_T are there any better cases than the antec 900 at about the same price range? would you recommend the 750W corsair or 750W corsair 80+ GOLD is there that much of a big difference in how much cooler it runs?
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You mentioned you wanted a 4gb kit, that's why I suggested going with a p55 setup instead of a x58 setup since there's little point of getting an x58 setup if you aren't going to utilize triple channel memory. And 4gb kits are compatible with x58 and 6gb kits are compatible with p55, ddr3 ram is just ddr3 ram after all.. This is a 6gb kit: http://ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=34654&vpn=TR3X6G1600C9&manufacture=Corsair
Some cases that come to mind are the coolermaster 690, haf 922 / 932, and coolermaster scout.
If you're talking about the hx750 and ax750. the hx750 is actually gold certified except corsair decided to label it as silver certified. The hx750 is made by cwt (if im not mistaken) and the ax750 is by seasonic. From personal experience, seasonics run very cool and quiet.
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On September 24 2010 13:09 skyR wrote:You mentioned you wanted a 4gb kit, that's why I suggested going with a p55 setup instead of a x58 setup since there's little point of getting an x58 setup if you aren't going to utilize triple channel memory. And 4gb kits are compatible with x58 and 6gb kits are compatible with p55, ddr3 ram is just ddr3 ram after all.. This is a 6gb kit: http://ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=34654&vpn=TR3X6G1600C9&manufacture=CorsairSome cases that come to mind are the coolermaster 690, haf 922 / 932, and coolermaster scout. If you're talking about the hx750 and ax750. the hx750 is actually gold certified except corsair decided to label it as silver certified. The hx750 is made by cwt (if im not mistaken) and the ax750 is by seasonic. From personal experience, seasonics run very cool and quiet.
alright thanks for the quick answers 
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It's about that time again when I need an upgrade, I've started to notice games not running at max smoothly and some of the newer game aren't running well at all, I used to know what to get but there just seems to be soo much variations now I am a bit lost, so here goes..
What is your budget?
Around £500 lower if possible.
What is your resolution?
1920x1080 (23.5 widescreen monitor)
What are you using it for?
Playing games and browsing teamliquid of course I enjoy the latest games and would like to play them as high as possible, would like sc2 on ultra.
What is your upgrade cycle?
As long as I can possibly make it last.
When do you plan on building it?
As soon as is possible.
Do you plan on overclocking?
Preferably not but if it was easy enough with little risk then why not.
Do you need an Operating System?
I already have windows 7 64bit
Do you plan to add a second GPU for SLI or Crossfire?
A single gfx card would be fine unless the price/performance was in budget.
Where are you buying your parts from?
I am from the uk and would be buying online so anything like ebuyer/overclock/overclockers/scan.
Current rig..
Can't think which motherboard I have in as I went through a few but it is quite old.
8800 gts 256mb :o
2gb memory
Intel Pentium dual E2180 2.00ghz
300gb ide hdd
Ide dvdwriter that works only when it wants to.
Nothing I can or want to salvage cept mouse/keyboard/monitor/speakers so building from scratch, sata hdd (500gb would be ideal)/motherboard/cpu and cooler/psu/case/gpu(1gb would be nice)/4gb ram/sata dvd writer. I don't think I've missed anything.
Thank you.
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5930 Posts
The Australian summer is coming and I need to get a new case with good GPU cooling so my computer doesn't brick itself. The old Antec I have isn't going to cut it with my current hardware plus its too cramped to fit 6 hard drives.
I kind of want something that is fairly unique but isn't completely ricer. The closest thing I found is the NEXT Phantom but gosh it looks too much like a stormtrooper.
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Asus Geforce gtx 460 issue
Just bought this card after recommendations here and to be able to play Sc2 in higher resolution than low.
I plugged the new card in and started the comp and I got four beeps from my computer. As far as I know this beep codes from POST (power on self test) indicates a hardware issue. And after some searching I found out this one long beep followed by three short beeps means videocard issue.
So why does not my new GTX 460 give any screen at all after bios and error beep codes ?
I plugged in my old ATi 4650 HD and it worked fine, so this means my PCIExpress bus is working properly. My Power supply is approx 750 W so that shouldn't be the problem either. But the GTX 460 had 2 power connectors directly and I only have one PCIE cable from the power supply. Is it optional that you must use both?
I have a Asus P5B mobo. Could it be my mobo is to old or some setting in BIOS?
I need your help FragKrag and TL:ers
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On September 25 2010 08:32 InDaHouse wrote:
Asus Geforce gtx 460 issue
Just bought this card after recommendations here and to be able to play Sc2 in higher resolution than low.
I plugged the new card in and started the comp and I got four beeps from my computer. As far as I know this beep codes from POST (power on self test) indicates a hardware issue. And after some searching I found out this one long beep followed by three short beeps means videocard issue.
So why does not my new GTX 460 give any screen at all after bios and error beep codes ?
I plugged in my old ATi 4650 HD and it worked fine, so this means my PCIExpress bus is working properly. My Power supply is approx 750 W so that shouldn't be the problem either. But the GTX 460 had 2 power connectors directly and I only have one PCIE cable from the power supply. Is it optional that you must use both?
I have a Asus P5B mobo. Could it be my mobo is to old or some setting in BIOS?
I need your help FragKrag and TL:ers
It is required to use both external power connectors for the GTX460 to work. You should have received adapters that turn two 4-pin connectors into one 6 pin connector if you PSU doesn't have enough of those.
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@InDaHouse, it is not optional. You must plug in both of the six pin connectors. If your PSU only has one 6pin connector, that means you have to use a molex to 6pin adapter that was provided to you with your GTX 460.
Looks like this:
+ Show Spoiler +
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United States9452 Posts
divadretrac: Sorry, not sure about UK taxes, shipping, general component costs, so my estimate might be off. But for £500 I don't think you can get something that will run ultra consistently at 1920x1080 at high fps consistently.
I think you would get about this:
AMD Athlon II X3 (440, 445, whatever)
AM3 socket motherboard
ATI (AMD) HD 5770
2X2 GB DDR3 RAM
HDD, DVD drive, case, as you say
A quality 380 or 400 W PSU should be sufficient. Just don't get a no-name brand or even some cheap units from known brands like the Cooler Master eXtreme Power Plus 400W. Different vendors' GPUs have mostly marginal differences, so just find one that doesn't have bad reviews.
Womwomwom: Is the NZXT Tempest available? Also, there seems to be a black version of the NZXT Phantom that would not look quite as much like a stormtrooper. Most of the usual suspects have only 6 internal HDD bays or less, so they may not work for you. Aside from that, I don't know about most high-end cases or even what options you even have available where you live. Hm.
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Many people here are building new PC for SC2.
Tomshardware all very well-known hardware site just publish a new article about graphic cards performance in SC2. You guys can grab in here
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/starcraft-ii-radeon-geforce,2728-2.html
They even create a test map which can be view in custom game on US server.
Quite a good review there. But the case of a big battle like the one on the test map is very rare.
Still prove that a GTX 460 or ATI Radeon 5850 can handle anything SC2 throw at you
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On September 25 2010 08:32 InDaHouse wrote:
Asus Geforce gtx 460 issue
Just bought this card after recommendations here and to be able to play Sc2 in higher resolution than low.
I plugged the new card in and started the comp and I got four beeps from my computer. As far as I know this beep codes from POST (power on self test) indicates a hardware issue. And after some searching I found out this one long beep followed by three short beeps means videocard issue.
So why does not my new GTX 460 give any screen at all after bios and error beep codes ?
I plugged in my old ATi 4650 HD and it worked fine, so this means my PCIExpress bus is working properly. My Power supply is approx 750 W so that shouldn't be the problem either. But the GTX 460 had 2 power connectors directly and I only have one PCIE cable from the power supply. Is it optional that you must use both?
I have a Asus P5B mobo. Could it be my mobo is to old or some setting in BIOS?
I need your help FragKrag and TL:ers
Hi there. I have an ASUS GTX 460 as well.
Your power supply only have on 6pin connector, but ASUS provide you one 6 pin connector converter.
It convert 2 normal powerline(the type you use for your Harddisk) into one 6pin connector.
As stated above, you need both 6pin connectors plugged in or your system will never boot
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Thank you Myrmidon, based on that I've come up with:
MOTHERBOARD:
£41.99 // Gigabyte GA-MA74GMT-S2, AMD 740G, AM3, PCI-E (x16), DDR3 1333MHz, SATA 3Gbps, SATA RAID, Micro ATX USB 2.0
CPU:
£59.27 // AMD Athlon II X3 445, Rana, Triple Core, S AM3, 3.1GHz, 1.5MB Total Cache, HT 2000MHz, 95W, Retail
£72.42 // AMD Athlon II X4 630, Quad Core, S AM3, 2.8GHz, 2MB Cache, HT 4000MHz, 95W, Retail
RAM:
£62.22 // 4GB Dual Channel (2x2GB) Corsair XMS3, DDR3 PC3-10666 (1333) Non-ECC Unbuffered, CAS 9-9-9-24, DHX, 1.5V
GPU:
£116.99 // 1GB XFX HD 5770 XXX, PCI-E 2.0 (x16), 5200MHz GDDR5, GPU 875MHz, 800 Cores, 2x DL DVI-I/ DP/ HDMI
PSU:
£32.88 // 400W Corsair CMPSU-400CXUK Power Series PSU, ATX, PS/2, 80+ Efficiency, UK Version
HDD:
£45.80 // 1TB Seagate ST31000528AS Barracuda 7200.12, SATA 3Gb/s, 7200rpm, 32MB Cache, 8.5 ms, NCQ
CASE:
£26.43 // Coolermaster Elite 360 Black Mid Tower Computer Case
DVD DRIVE:
£13.50 // LiteOn IHAS124-19 24x DVD±R, 8x DVD±DL, DVD+RW x8/-RW x6, DVD-RAM x12, SATA, Black, OEM
How does that sound? I've put down two cpus there as I wasn't sure which was best, the quad or the triple. Also this come to around about £400 so I could possibly up some components or add some extra case cooling, will had to add some artic silver or some such, I don't have a problem putting it altogether myself.
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I am looking to build my own computer for the first time to save some money but i am a total computer noob
please help me 
What is your budget?
600 without a monitor
What is your resolution?
1680x1050 (i think?)
What are you using it for?
Mostly gaming and web browsing
What is your upgrade cycle?
as long as possible
When do you plan on building it?
asap
Do you plan on overclocking?
i have no idea
Do you need an Operating System?
no
Do you plan to add a second GPU for SLI or Crossfire?
whatever is recommended
Where are you buying your parts from?
newegg.com(or any other recommended sites)
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On September 25 2010 16:20 divadretrac wrote:
Thank you Myrmidon, based on that I've come up with:
MOTHERBOARD:
£41.99 // Gigabyte GA-MA74GMT-S2, AMD 740G, AM3, PCI-E (x16), DDR3 1333MHz, SATA 3Gbps, SATA RAID, Micro ATX USB 2.0
CPU:
£59.27 // AMD Athlon II X3 445, Rana, Triple Core, S AM3, 3.1GHz, 1.5MB Total Cache, HT 2000MHz, 95W, Retail
£72.42 // AMD Athlon II X4 630, Quad Core, S AM3, 2.8GHz, 2MB Cache, HT 4000MHz, 95W, Retail
RAM:
£62.22 // 4GB Dual Channel (2x2GB) Corsair XMS3, DDR3 PC3-10666 (1333) Non-ECC Unbuffered, CAS 9-9-9-24, DHX, 1.5V
GPU:
£116.99 // 1GB XFX HD 5770 XXX, PCI-E 2.0 (x16), 5200MHz GDDR5, GPU 875MHz, 800 Cores, 2x DL DVI-I/ DP/ HDMI
PSU:
£32.88 // 400W Corsair CMPSU-400CXUK Power Series PSU, ATX, PS/2, 80+ Efficiency, UK Version
HDD:
£45.80 // 1TB Seagate ST31000528AS Barracuda 7200.12, SATA 3Gb/s, 7200rpm, 32MB Cache, 8.5 ms, NCQ
CASE:
£26.43 // Coolermaster Elite 360 Black Mid Tower Computer Case
DVD DRIVE:
£13.50 // LiteOn IHAS124-19 24x DVD±R, 8x DVD±DL, DVD+RW x8/-RW x6, DVD-RAM x12, SATA, Black, OEM
How does that sound? I've put down two cpus there as I wasn't sure which was best, the quad or the triple. Also this come to around about £400 so I could possibly up some components or add some extra case cooling, will had to add some artic silver or some such, I don't have a problem putting it altogether myself.
£500 is about €600, depending on the day.
Put together this cart from hardwareversand.de
![[image loading]](http://img13.imageshack.us/img13/9012/hwvs.th.jpg)
Much better CPU, better mobo (USB3/SATA3), nicer case, better GPU. Faster hard drive, but less space. You could get the F3 1TB for just €18 more though if you need the space, but the F4 is an awesome drive. You could add an arctic cooling freezer 7 for €16 as well, but that just pushes it over budget with shipping. You probably can't do better for price/performance with this build though.
You wouldn't need to add any thermal paste tbh, nearly all heatsinks come with some pre-applied, and you'd probably only see a 1 or 2 degree change in temp with arctic silver over the stock paste.
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On September 25 2010 17:10 xshnoopy wrote:I am looking to build my own computer for the first time to save some money but i am a total computer noob please help me What is your budget?600 without a monitor What is your resolution?1680x1050 (i think?) What are you using it for?Mostly gaming and web browsing What is your upgrade cycle?as long as possible When do you plan on building it?asap Do you plan on overclocking?i have no idea
Do you need an Operating System?no Do you plan to add a second GPU for SLI or Crossfire?whatever is recommended Where are you buying your parts from?newegg.com(or any other recommended sites)
$80 Gigabyte GA-770T-USB3 Motherboard
$170 EVGA GTX460
$150 Phenom II X4 955 BE + DVD RW
$110 NZXT Beta + 4GB G-Skill RAM
$100 OCZ Fatal1ty 550W + Spinpoint F3 500GB
Total $610 or $585 after MIR.
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On September 25 2010 09:22 skyR wrote:@InDaHouse, it is not optional. You must plug in both of the six pin connectors. If your PSU only has one 6pin connector, that means you have to use a molex to 6pin adapter that was provided to you with your GTX 460. Looks like this: + Show Spoiler +
Ah ok! Yes I got exactly the adapter in the pic. Yes my PSU only have one PCIE 6-pin connector. So I plug the 6-pin adapter in the Gtx 460 and where do I connect the Molex? Cannot find molex connectors on my motherboard.
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On September 25 2010 19:09 InDaHouse wrote:Show nested quote +On September 25 2010 09:22 skyR wrote:@InDaHouse, it is not optional. You must plug in both of the six pin connectors. If your PSU only has one 6pin connector, that means you have to use a molex to 6pin adapter that was provided to you with your GTX 460. Looks like this: + Show Spoiler + Ah ok! Yes I got exactly the adapter in the pic. Yes my PSU only have one PCIE 6-pin connector. So I plug the 6-pin adapter in the Gtx 460 and where do I connect the Molex? Cannot find molex connectors on my motherboard.
The molex connectors will be on your power supply as well.
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EPT![[image loading]](http://www.keuren.eu/images/72.2MOLEX-PCIe.gif)
![[image loading]](http://img13.imageshack.us/i/hwvs.jpg/)
