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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. |
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Request Not familiar with this process, and would appreciate some assistance choosing parts.
What is your budget? Anywhere from $1,250-$1,750 (USD). Don't worry about the monitor, keyboard, mouse, OS, or any other peripherals.
What is your resolution? The higher the better, probably
What are you using it for? Work (Word / Excel / PowerPoint / compiling code / etc.) Games, particularly SC2 Photoshop Playing movies
What is your upgrade cycle? Arbitrary
When do you plan on building it? Within a month.
Do you plan on overclocking? No.
Do you need an Operating System? Yes, probably Windows 7?
Do you plan to add a second GPU for SLI or Crossfire? Need advice
Where are you buying your parts from? Probably Newegg
Computer case needs: Preferably a larger case as they're probably easier to work with? Preferably quiet and relatively nondescript (not a ton of LEDs)
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I have a question, I'm going to be streaming my SC2 live. Is it still not worth it to get 8GB of ram? Any streamer who knows?
I'm about to upgrade to an i5-760 system, and will be streaming very often!
Thanks in advance.
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Steaming programs often don't buffer in ram massive amounts of data anyways not by much so unless you tweak it to have a very large que it hold up the ram it's unlikely to use alot of ram.
Faster cpu or a dedicated encoding would do better.
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Requests? I want an i7-950, but other than that I'm open to suggestions on anything.
What is your budget? Anywhere between 1000 to 1800. Exclude keyboard/mice/os and accessories.
What is your resolution?
The higher the better, at least 1280x1200
What are you using it for? lots of gaming, mainly SC2, WoW, and d3 if it ever comes out. Lol
What is your upgrade cycle?
Within 2-3 years.
When do you plan on building it?
Before 2011.
Do you plan on overclocking?
um maybe, I'll take advice on whether or not to. don't think I'll need it though
Do you need an Operating System? if it comes with the system then sure, windows 7 64 bit only Do you plan to add a second GPU for SLI or Crossfire?
no
Where are you buying your parts from? anywhere cheapest. prob tigerdirect and/or newegg.
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An i7-950 really seems like a waste just for gaming unless you're going tri or quad GPUs, but okay. Especially consider that the i7-920 has been out for years, and Intel's new generation of CPUs is due for Q1 2011.
With a budget of up to $1800, you can really get some nice stuff. Here's a start: i7-950 and Asus Sabertooth X58 EVGA GTX 470 G.Skill 2x3GB DDR3 1600 RAM OCZ Vertex 2 120GB Samsung Spinpoint F4 2TB LG DVD+RW Cooler Master 690ii Advanced and Silent Pro 600W
The above is a lot less than $1800. If you don't like SSDs, you could obviously drop the Vertex 2 and get a normal 7200 rpm HDD instead of the 5400rpm 2TB drive. You could get a nicer case and PSU, but there's not much point if you're not adding a second GPU or doing heavy overclocking. I'm sure you could find a few better deals on certain things like the GPU and SSD if you wait around.
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At those current prices, the HD 4850 looks like the best value.
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So I got my computer,
Motherboard [SLI] Gigabyte GA-X58A-UD3R w/ 4x PCI-E 2.0 x16 with an HD 5870 videocard.
All great but I didn't realize I have no VGI output. I don't have a DVI / HDMI monitor - I will get one tomorrow, but can I use my old video card to see if the computer works?
old videocard : Radeon X600 256 MB (idk even know what motherboard)
Can I leave the 5870 in there and put the X600 in at the same time or is that a bad idea?
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It would be wisest to take out the 5870 just to make sure there are no problems 
Firkraag8 that will be great for overclocking. I hope you manage to push those dominators to like 2000mhz or something 
The H50 will take your i5 760 well over 3.6GHz
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On October 27 2010 11:12 ggofthejungle wrote: So I got my computer,
Motherboard [SLI] Gigabyte GA-X58A-UD3R w/ 4x PCI-E 2.0 x16 with an HD 5870 videocard.
All great but I didn't realize I have no VGI output. I don't have a DVI / HDMI monitor - I will get one tomorrow, but can I use my old video card to see if the computer works?
old videocard : Radeon X600 256 MB (idk even know what motherboard)
Can I leave the 5870 in there and put the X600 in at the same time or is that a bad idea?
The 5870 should have came with a DVI to VGA adapter.
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First, let me say thank you to everyone who helped me out in this thread. I was able to put the PC together without too much hassle and everything is working now.
There's one troubling thing that I would like to get some feedback on, though. I have been monitoring the temperatures with CPUID Hardware Monitor, and while the GTX 460 is fine, the Phenom II X4 955 CPU seems to be running a little hot. I tested it with an SC2 single player mission (normal/medium settings because I'm used to them), and all 4 cores reached a maximum of 54-55 C. While idling, the temperatures are anywhere from 36-39 C. Apparently it should be running quite a bit cooler than this, especially because I'm not overclocking at all. Is it possible I didn't seat the CPU heatsink properly? The HAF 912 case has 2 fans and a ton of ventilation, so I don't think that's the problem. Maybe the thermal pad that comes on the heatsink is just crappy and insufficient? I'm at a loss here.
For reference, the GTX 460 idles at 29 C and only reached 44 C on SC2.
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On October 28 2010 00:13 city42 wrote: First, let me say thank you to everyone who helped me out in this thread. I was able to put the PC together without too much hassle and everything is working now.
There's one troubling thing that I would like to get some feedback on, though. I have been monitoring the temperatures with CPUID Hardware Monitor, and while the GTX 460 is fine, the Phenom II X4 955 CPU seems to be running a little hot. I tested it with an SC2 single player mission (normal/medium settings because I'm used to them), and all 4 cores reached a maximum of 54-55 C. While idling, the temperatures are anywhere from 36-39 C. Apparently it should be running quite a bit cooler than this, especially because I'm not overclocking at all. Is it possible I didn't seat the CPU heatsink properly? The HAF 912 case has 2 fans and a ton of ventilation, so I don't think that's the problem. Maybe the thermal pad that comes on the heatsink is just crappy and insufficient? I'm at a loss here.
For reference, the GTX 460 idles at 29 C and only reached 44 C on SC2.
I also have a 955BE + GTX460 combo. 55° when playing SC2 seems hot considering youre not overclocking (62° is max temp. for the CPU according to the official specs).
You should check the VCore voltage, I'm guessing it's too high. You have probably set it to auto in the BIOS, but auto will sometimes result in higher than needed VCore. When I left it on auto I got like 1.45v, which is absolutely not needed. Standard voltage for the 955BE is 1,375v, which is more than enough. I overclocked to 3,5Ghz on 1,375v so if you're going to stay on stock speed you could even lower the VCore some more. I'd suggest you put it on 1,375v manually and check the temps to see if that helps.
Edit: I forgot to mention that Vcore has a huge influence on the temperature. The higher the hotter.
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On October 28 2010 00:13 city42 wrote: First, let me say thank you to everyone who helped me out in this thread. I was able to put the PC together without too much hassle and everything is working now.
There's one troubling thing that I would like to get some feedback on, though. I have been monitoring the temperatures with CPUID Hardware Monitor, and while the GTX 460 is fine, the Phenom II X4 955 CPU seems to be running a little hot. I tested it with an SC2 single player mission (normal/medium settings because I'm used to them), and all 4 cores reached a maximum of 54-55 C. While idling, the temperatures are anywhere from 36-39 C. Apparently it should be running quite a bit cooler than this, especially because I'm not overclocking at all. Is it possible I didn't seat the CPU heatsink properly? The HAF 912 case has 2 fans and a ton of ventilation, so I don't think that's the problem. Maybe the thermal pad that comes on the heatsink is just crappy and insufficient? I'm at a loss here.
For reference, the GTX 460 idles at 29 C and only reached 44 C on SC2.
Are you using the standard heatsink? I think that one has push pins right? try to push all of them again and look at the back of your board (i think the haf 912 has a hole there) if all four pins stick out.
Also maybe you moved the thermal pad out of the correct position while mounting the heatsink?
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On October 28 2010 00:39 snowbird wrote:Show nested quote +On October 28 2010 00:13 city42 wrote: First, let me say thank you to everyone who helped me out in this thread. I was able to put the PC together without too much hassle and everything is working now.
There's one troubling thing that I would like to get some feedback on, though. I have been monitoring the temperatures with CPUID Hardware Monitor, and while the GTX 460 is fine, the Phenom II X4 955 CPU seems to be running a little hot. I tested it with an SC2 single player mission (normal/medium settings because I'm used to them), and all 4 cores reached a maximum of 54-55 C. While idling, the temperatures are anywhere from 36-39 C. Apparently it should be running quite a bit cooler than this, especially because I'm not overclocking at all. Is it possible I didn't seat the CPU heatsink properly? The HAF 912 case has 2 fans and a ton of ventilation, so I don't think that's the problem. Maybe the thermal pad that comes on the heatsink is just crappy and insufficient? I'm at a loss here.
For reference, the GTX 460 idles at 29 C and only reached 44 C on SC2. I also have a 955BE + GTX460 combo. 55° when playing SC2 seems hot considering youre not overclocking (62° is max temp. for the CPU according to the official specs). You should check the VCore voltage, I'm guessing it's too high. You have probably set it to auto in the BIOS, but auto will sometimes result in higher than needed VCore. When I left it on auto I got like 1.45v, which is absolutely not needed. Standard voltage for the 955BE is 1,375v, which is more than enough. I overclocked to 3,5Ghz on 1,375v so if you're going to stay on stock speed you could even lower the VCore some more. I'd suggest you put it on 1,375v manually and check the temps to see if that helps. Edit: I forgot to mention that Vcore has a huge influence on the temperature. The higher the hotter. My motherboard had it set at 1.400, and I put it down to 1.350 which is the stock value. The maximum temperature now seems to be 53 C, which isn't a dramatic difference but every little bit helps. Thanks for the advice, I had no idea that the motherboard would push the voltage up by default.
On October 28 2010 00:42 IPS.ZeRo wrote:Show nested quote +On October 28 2010 00:13 city42 wrote: First, let me say thank you to everyone who helped me out in this thread. I was able to put the PC together without too much hassle and everything is working now.
There's one troubling thing that I would like to get some feedback on, though. I have been monitoring the temperatures with CPUID Hardware Monitor, and while the GTX 460 is fine, the Phenom II X4 955 CPU seems to be running a little hot. I tested it with an SC2 single player mission (normal/medium settings because I'm used to them), and all 4 cores reached a maximum of 54-55 C. While idling, the temperatures are anywhere from 36-39 C. Apparently it should be running quite a bit cooler than this, especially because I'm not overclocking at all. Is it possible I didn't seat the CPU heatsink properly? The HAF 912 case has 2 fans and a ton of ventilation, so I don't think that's the problem. Maybe the thermal pad that comes on the heatsink is just crappy and insufficient? I'm at a loss here.
For reference, the GTX 460 idles at 29 C and only reached 44 C on SC2. Are you using the standard heatsink? I think that one has push pins right? try to push all of them again and look at the back of your board (i think the haf 912 has a hole there) if all four pins stick out. Also maybe you moved the thermal pad out of the correct position while mounting the heatsink?
I think push pins are for intel models, as this one just has a latch. I'm not sure whether or not the thermal pad was moved, but I can't take a look because I have no thermal paste to apply when reseating. I think I may have to buy some, though, because these temperatures definitely aren't natural. I have done quit a bit of googling and people get similar temperatures while OCing at 3.8 ghz and 1.5V, so I should definitely be able to get the max temperature into the mid-to-upper 40s. The thermal pastes I can get my hands on easiest are Arctic Silver 5 and Ceramique...are those any good?
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No, no Arctic Silver.
Where are you getting them? I can help look.
Some good ones are Tuniq TX-2/3, Arctic Cooling MX-2/3/4, OCZ Freeze Extreme, IC Diamond 7, Shin-Etsu, Noctua
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