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.
Hello there! I am looking to build a computer and this is what i have so far:
Intel® Core™ i7-2600 Processor (3.40GHz, 8MB) 12288 MB (2 x 4 GB/2 x 2 GB) DDR3 Dual Channel-Memory 1333 MHz Windows 7 home Premium (64bit) 2 TB, RAID Stripe (2 x 1 TB, 7.200 RPM) AMD Radeon™ HD 6770 1 GB DDR5-Graphics card OR NVIDIA® GeForce GTX 560 Ti 1.25GB GDDR5 Graphics Card ST2220L 21.5” full HD Sound Blaster X-Fi Xtreme Music-sound card
I would love to get some feedback or improvements on this system!
What is your budget? About 2000 usd
What is your resolution? I will be using two monitors, my main is ST2220L 21.5” full HD 16: 9.
What are you using it for? I will be using it mainly for Starcraft 2. I want to be able to stream at 720p/1080p, with web cam and mic and a good framerate nomater what happens in game with graphics on max.
What is your upgrade cycle? I have a relatively slow upgrade cycle and would have this pc 2+ years.
When do you plan on building it? I plan on ordering and building it in April
Do you plan on overclocking? I dont know enough about overclocking atm, so no (advice is welcome but not necessary)
Do you plan to add a second GPU for SLI or Crossfire? I don't know enough about adding a second GPU either
It's pointless to plan now if you aren't buying for another month.
I'm not sure why you're deciding between two cards that are vastly different in pricing. The 6770 is ~$100 while a GTX 560 Ti is ~$220. If all you care about is Starcraft II, I'd get a Radeon HD6850 instead.
I'm not sure why you're getting a 2x4gb kit and then a 2x2gb kit. You might as well just buy a 4x4gb kit or two 2x4gb kits.
If you want a good FPS regardless of scenario, you are going to be required to overclock... since Starcraft II is a very CPU intensive game.
You're missing a power supply, motherboard, and case.
I dont plan on buying my components until mid next month but I wanted to clue myself up well before then. Will that much have changed by then?
Well Ivybridge might be released by than so instead of buying a 2500k or whatever Sandybridge, you would be buying a 3570k / Ivybridge.
Instead of a 6 series chipset, you would be buying a 7 series chipset.
At least one Kepler card will be available and Pitcairn will be available.
Not to mention pricing isn't static so unless you plan on buying parts individually as they go on sale, it's sort of pointless wasting your time on browsing through all the available cases, power supplies, and so on.
I see. Will the price points of these new components be comparable to the current lines or more because they are new?
They'll be slightly more than what's currently available.
This is my final build, and im planning on getting it early next month
Cpu: i5-2500k
Mobo: Asus z68
Ram: 2x4g ddr3, thats all i know on the subject, i guess i could read the op again and find more about the speed
Gpu: I havent made up my mind yet, probably in a week or so, im waiting on more info about monitor, probably an AMD
PSU: I found a capstone 550! :3
Case: The haf 912 its waaay overpriced, couldn find any with a decent price, so instead im opting for a elite 310
HSF: Havent found any good choice yet, altough i saw a Corsair H6~something at a good price
HDD/SSD: I already have a 500g hdd, and im getting a crucial m4 128g SSD
Misc: Random dvd player and that other stuff that have no real impact
Im planning on overclocking but im a bit afraid about the temperature thing, this is a very warm country and that elite310 case + the hsf scare me a little...
Any advices? I should say that i had no idea about how to do this before i read this thread, very instructive indeed, and now im helping a friend who wants to build one pc of his own...
Should i wait for the release of the 3570k? i read that its coming out in a couple of months and for a minimun price difference with the 2500k
This is my final build, and im planning on getting it early next month
Cpu: i5-2500k
Mobo: Asus z68
Ram: 2x4g ddr3, thats all i know on the subject, i guess i could read the op again and find more about the speed
Gpu: I havent made up my mind yet, probably in a week or so, im waiting on more info about monitor, probably an AMD
PSU: I found a capstone 550! :3
Case: The haf 912 its waaay overpriced, couldn find any with a decent price, so instead im opting for a elite 310
HSF: Havent found any good choice yet, altough i saw a Corsair H6~something at a good price
HDD/SSD: I already have a 500g hdd, and im getting a crucial m4 128g SSD
Misc: Random dvd player and that other stuff that have no real impact
Im planning on overclocking but im a bit afraid about the temperature thing, this is a very warm country and that elite310 case + the hsf scare me a little...
Any advices? I should say that i had no idea about how to do this before i read this thread, very instructive indeed, and now im helping a friend who wants to build one pc of his own...
Should i wait for the release of the 3570k? i read that its coming out in a couple of months and for a minimun price difference with the 2500k
There's not much advice to give for someone who provides no information.
There's at least half dozen ASUS Z68 boards, all of them being expensive in comparison to its competitors.
Capstone 550 is probably extremely extremely overpriced since Rosewill is a Newegg brand...
On March 11 2012 11:14 pfff wrote: guys, normal question after 972 pages, looking for a cheap set (running an expensive gaming laptop right now + a laptop from work, looking for a desktop) that can run skyrym at the least (brothers birthday present :-) ) and hopefully pull me through the next 3 years of Mobas, bioware rpgs and blizzard rtses, budget is not really a problem but would prefer like 600-800 euros cuz its gaming isnt really my focus hehe, thanks in advance
answer the questions in the op so we can help you first, can't without that done first
1000$ This budget is only geared toward a Case/cpu/gpu/ram
(PLEASE NOTE THIS IS HIGHLY NEGOTIABLE, this is what I'm comfortable spending however I do understand that it may be necessary to pay more for what is needed.)
What is your resolution?
1920x1080
But here is where this gets tricky. I have 5 23' LED LCD Monitors to use. I work from home, and my company has provided these and a very out of date 4 monitor support card. However, I'm hoping to find a gaming card that can support 3-5 monitors. (I know very little about how these new cards work or what I need which is why I'm asking for your help today)
What are you using it for?
Gaming and work. I play sc2/Guildwars2/Dota2, I'm hoping to build something that will be able to support 4+ monitors for multitasking between work and gaming/distracting myself from work. I also have toyed with the idea of streaming quite alot, for work reasons I have a 40d/20u line at home.
What is your upgrade cycle?
I don't have an estimated time till I upgrade (or even plan to), the past dictates that typically I upgrade/buy a new system every 3-4 years or so.
When do you plan on building it?
As soon as possible!
Do you plan on overclocking?
No, I plan on also using this computer for work.. Anything that could jeopardize the stability of the system is out.
Do you need an Operating System?
No
Do you plan to add a second GPU for SLI or Crossfire?
If recommended, and if it makes more sense. From what I've been reading some newer cards claim to be able to support these types of request with only one card? I am so ignorant to all of this!
Where are you buying your parts from?
Newegg most likely, I live in Florida, USA if anyone else has any other better ideas.
Anyone who reads this or decides to devote some time to helping, THANK YOU IN ADVANCE! I've always had great respect for the TL community and lurk this site everyday.
Please know that this system will:
-Improve my low masters zerg game -Help alpha test one the best upcoming games! -Constantly strive to silence all the dota 2 trolls that make matchmaking unbearable.
When you are gaming, do you want to game on 1 monitor, 3 monitors (5760x1080 resolution), or all 5 monitors? (The last not really feasible for budget/practical viewing area reasons unless perhaps the monitors are all in portrait mode. Still, bezels.)
Also, tell us what power supply you have, otherwise I'll assume you don't have one.
P.S. Some games can only be played on one monitor (SC2 for instance. I always assumed the DOTA clones as well, but I'm not sure).
One monitor for gaming is all I need, however 5760x1080 would be cool to try out.. lol!
I have a Roseewill 700w powersupply currently supportting a nvidea gtx 465. (maybe the newer cards require additional/different types of PCIE connectors ?)
What connections do each of the monitors have out of VGA, DVI, HDMI, and DisplayPort? It may be simpler to just run some of the monitors off of the CPU integrated graphics (with Z68) or just get a second video card like an HD 5450 to handle the others.
Because there is nothing to discuss.. you're comparing FXAA and MSAA. You're beyond delusional if you think a Kepler will be three times faster than a Fermi.
@Aycrith Edit: Apparently I made some errors. See SkyR's post below. Well, here's an idea then:
CPU: i7-2600 - $280 w/promo code EMCNGNA53 (ends today I think) http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115071 The i7 has hyperthreading, which will help somewhat in multi-threaded tasks (for you, probably just streaming) but not in most tasks (gaming, office program multitasking). Since you're not overclocking, you're hurting in CPU performance, so even though the processor is $85 more than an i5-2500, if you plan on streaming in higher qualities you should consider it. If you don't think you'll stream seriously, the i5-2500 may be a better allocation of money (assuming your work doesn't need heavy multi-threaded CPU power).
This leaves you tons of budget for GPU. I'd recommend an AMD GPU over an Nvidia GPU largely because you can toy with multi-monitor gaming without committing to a second GPU (I think Nvidia requires SLI for multi-monitor). There are a ton of options within your price range. You could go cheaper than a 6870, but that GPU should provide decent if not spectacular performance for any modern game (@ 1920x1080). You might still be able to play around with 3-monitor guild wars 2 on a 6870 at low settings, but I can't find anyone who's tried online to see if you'd get a decent framerate.
On the other hand you could go complete overkill for 1920x1080 and blow money to play around with a multi-monitor setup for guild wars 2 or whatever else. 7970s are kind of within your budget (~$600), but that seems silly even to me. A 7950 would provide about the same ridiculous GPU power (you can also overclock these without increasing stock voltage if you choose to). There's one on us.ncix.com for $450, but this one has a slightly quieter heatsink & a slight factory overclock (beneficial if you don't want to OC yourself) @$477. Note I've never purchased from provantage:
There are, of course, many other options between the $150 6870 and the $477 7950, most notably the 6950 1gb & 2gb versions (the 2gb version slightly better for multi-monitor only, but more expensive), and the upcoming 7870 & 7850 cards. Plus Nvidia options, but I don't feel like going through them all.
How to connect all the monitors: Both motherboards have 1 VGA and 1 DVI connection, so that's 2 monitors. The 6870 has two DVI connections, while both 7950s have a DVI connection and should also come with 1 HDMI to DVI adapter, so that's 4 monitors. For the fifth monitor, you'll have to buy an adapter. This could be another HDMI to DVI adapter (for use with the gigabyte motherboard or 6870 HDMI port, ~$10), or a mini Display Port to DVI adapter. Note that AMD's version of multi-monitor gaming (Eyefinity) requires at least one Display Port-run monitor. You can solve this problem with an active mini-Display Port to DVI adaptor (~$30), which would also serve as the adapter you need for your fifth monitor:
IF I'm understanding SkyR correctly, this is correct except you should use a second cheap video card [possibly the one your company gave you?] for two DVI connections rather than the connections on the motherboard. And you will have to have an active mini-Display Port to DVI adapter to attach a third monitor to the gaming video card regardless of whether you want to do multi-monitor gaming. But I might not be understanding correctly. And I'm still surprised you can't use the onboard video connections on a Z68 board.
If you are happy with your current computer's performance except lack of video hookups, you might be able to just buy a video card you won't really use except to hook up more monitors, as Myrmidon noted. More monitors for simple desktop space doesn't require a stronger CPU or GPU, the system resources required are negligible. No hurry to pick up the sales I noted that end today. If you're uncertain what you want, the sales aren't that big and who knows, maybe next week's sales will be relevant.
FYI, I haven't actually hooked up more than 2 monitors to a single computer, so this is mostly theory knowledge. If a reputable poster here tells you I'm wrong somewhere [edit: yep see below], or that your power supply is low quality (I'm assuming that even a low quality 700w unit will be more than enough for any single-GPU setup) they're probably right.
CPU: i7-2600 - $280 w/promo code EMCNGNA53 (ends today I think) http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115071 The i7 has hyperthreading, which will help somewhat in multi-threaded tasks (for you, probably just streaming) but not in most tasks (gaming, office program multitasking). Since you're not overclocking, you're hurting in CPU performance, so even though the processor is $85 more than an i5-2500, if you plan on streaming in higher qualities you should consider it. If you don't think you'll stream seriously, the i5-2500 may be a better allocation of money (assuming your work doesn't need heavy multi-threaded CPU power).
Mobo: Gigabyte Z68A-D3H-B3 - $113 AMIR http://us.ncix.com/products/?sku=61065&vpn=GA-Z68A-D3H-B3&manufacture=Gigabyte&promoid=1363 Inexpensive mobo still dual-GPU capable if you want to do that later. Video output: 1 VGA, 1 DVI, 1 HDMI. The Gigabyte is an overclocking board (z68), but better at dual-GPU configurations than H67 boards if you are considering a crossfire upgrade. This cheaper H67 board may be better for you if you think a 2nd GPU is unlikely ($85 AMIR), It keeps USB 3.0 & SATA3 capability and can still do crossfire (though slightly less efficiently) but not SLI. Video output: 1 VGA & 1 DVI: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130616
This leaves you tons of budget for GPU. I'd recommend an AMD GPU over an Nvidia GPU largely because you can toy with multi-monitor gaming without committing to a second GPU (I think Nvidia requires SLI for multi-monitor). There are a ton of options within your price range. You could go cheaper than a 6870, but that GPU should provide decent if not spectacular performance for any modern game (@ 1920x1080). You might still be able to play around with 3-monitor guild wars 2 on a 6870 at low settings, but I can't find anyone who's tried online to see if you'd get a decent framerate.
On the other hand you could go complete overkill for 1920x1080 and blow money to play around with a multi-monitor setup for guild wars 2 or whatever else. 7970s are kind of within your budget ($600), but that seems silly even to me. A 7950 would provide about the same ridiculous GPU power (you can also overclock these without increasing stock voltage if you choose to). There's one on us.ncix.com for $450, but this one has a slightly quieter heatsink & a slight factory overclock (beneficial if you don't want to OC yourself) @$477. Note I've never purchased from provantage:
There are, of course, many other options between the $150 6870 and the $477 7950, most notably the 6950 1gb & 2gb versions (the 2gb version slightly better for multi-monitor only, but more expensive), and the upcoming 7870 & 7850 cards. Plus Nvidia options, but I don't feel like going through them all.
How to connect all the monitors: Both motherboards have 1 VGA and 1 DVI connection, so that's 2 monitors. The 6870 has two DVI connections, while both 7950s have a DVI connection and should also come with 1 HDMI to DVI adapter, so that's 4 monitors. For the fifth monitor, you'll have to buy an adapter. This could be another HDMI to DVI adapter (for use with the gigabyte motherboard or 6870 HDMI port, ~$10), or a mini Display Port to DVI adapter. Note that AMD's version of multi-monitor gaming (Eyefinity) requires at least one Display Port-run monitor. You can solve this problem with an active mini-Display Port to DVI adaptor (~$30), which would also serve as the adapter you need for your fifth monitor:
For just gaming on a single screen in most games, there will be very little difference between the $945 set of options and the $475 set of options. Also, if you are happy with your current computer's performance except lack of video hookups, you can just buy a video card you won't really use except to hook up more monitors, as Myrmidon noted. No hurry to pick up the sales I noted that end today. If you're uncertain what you want, the sales aren't that big and who knows, maybe next week's sales will be relevant.
FYI, I haven't actually hooked up more than 2 monitors to a single computer, so this is mostly theory knowledge. If a reputable poster here tells you I'm wrong somewhere, or that your power supply is low quality (I'm assuming that even a low quality 700w unit will be MORE than enough for any single-GPU setup) they're probably right. But I'm virtually certain you can use multiple video outlets from the motherboard and DVI types are compatible with each other, which are the only places I'd question myself.
To use more than three displays with a single graphics card (AMD), you are required to either daisy chain monitors with displayport or use a displayport hub and active adapters. Since all your monitors aren't capable of being daisy chained, you're left with the second option (which I'm pretty sure is much more expensive than just using a second shitty card).
For Nvidia cards, you simply can't support more than two displays with a single card unless you buy a dual GPU card.
You cannot support three monitors through HDMI and DVI. These ports share the same clock and can only support two displays, either through DVI+DVI or DVI+HDMI.
You cannot use the IGP on H67 in combination with a discrete GPU. Z68 is required for this.
Radeon HD6950 and 6970 are no longer available. Your only choices would be the 6850, 6870, 7950, and 7970 until next week when 7850 and 7870 will be available.
I stand corrected. I'd thought he could connect 3 monitors to an AMD card and 2 to the motherboard. So to clarify, his only reasonable option is to buy the graphics card he wants to run games on (or use the one he has if he's got one) & add a cheap card like the 5450 mentioned by Myrmidon? If he did that, would he still need to utilize 3 Display Port connections?
Because there is nothing to discuss.. you're comparing FXAA and MSAA. You're beyond delusional if you think a Kepler will be three times faster than a Fermi.
Please give me a link or something =). I didn't believe it at the start. Thank you for your replay. But please refrain writing about my mental state =).
I stand corrected. I'd thought he could connect 3 monitors to an AMD card and 2 to the motherboard. So to clarify, his only reasonable option is to buy the graphics card he wants to run games on (or use the one he has if he's got one) & add a cheap card like the 5450 mentioned by Myrmidon? If he did that, would he still need to utilize 3 Display Port connections?
My apologies to Aycrith and my thanks to SkyR.
He mentioned he already as a card capable of supporting four monitors (I assume its a workstation card) so yes one of his options of supporting so many displays is getting a motherboard capable of supporting two graphics cards. The other option is Z68.
Because there is nothing to discuss.. you're comparing FXAA and MSAA. You're beyond delusional if you think a Kepler will be three times faster than a Fermi.
Please give me a link or something =). I didn't believe it at the start. Thank you for your replay. But please refrain writing about my mental state =).
This has been discussed at all the major tech forums such as [H], OC, Anand, and so on. Just google "Kepler 3x faster".
If I added an SSD solely for the OS, what kind of size would I need? I have seen a 30GB for ~£35. Ofc I would have to upgrade to a h67 instead of a h61 to handle the SATA-600 requirement.
I am not sure of the speed that the SSD would bring or if would it just be worth partitioning the main HDD to allow for clean reinstall to improve speed etc
On March 12 2012 10:45 TheMooseHeed wrote: If I added an SSD solely for the OS, what kind of size would I need? I have seen a 30GB for ~£35. Ofc I would have to upgrade to a h67 instead of a h61 to handle the SATA-600 requirement.
I am not sure of the speed that the SSD would bring or if would it just be worth partitioning the main HDD to allow for clean reinstall to improve speed etc
The speed is huge, but you should really go for 60 for OS. It's faster than 30 due to the way the controller works, better for updates, drivers, and so on, and lets you also put productivity stuff, PDF readers, and other little things that benefit greatly from it on there, as well as letting you page to it (yes this is safe with a good one) which is also a good performance boost.
For most tasks, SATA2 vs. SATA3 is not really much of a big deal. It's really overblown in general as most people shouldn't notice the difference in performance, but the difference is going to be even smaller for a smaller drive like 64GB and lower.
edit: paging as in keeping the OS swap space (page file) on the SSD. This is where temporary working data for applications gets put, if it's not put in RAM (being in RAM is preferred and swapping the data back into RAM takes time, but RAM is not infinite). It would be better for performance to have this space on a fast SSD as opposed to a hard drive. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Page_file
EPT
see below], or that your power supply is low quality (I'm assuming that even a low quality 700w unit will be more than enough for any single-GPU setup) they're probably right.
