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When using this resource, please read the 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 August 31 2013 07:05 skyR wrote:Show nested quote +On August 30 2013 23:32 distant_voice wrote:+ Show Spoiler +First of all, thank you Skyr for making the thread. It must have been a lot of work and I appreciate that.
I have read it all and come up with this build for me (it's mostly what you suggested to merK):
Case: Fractal Define R4
Motherboard: Gigabyte Z87X-D3H
PSU: Seasonic S12II-520
CPU: Intel Core i5 4670K
RAM: Corsair Vengeance 2x4GB 1600Mhz (I know you recommend G.Skill 2133 RAM but I read negative customer feedback on Amazon which makes me unsure about them.)
HDD: WD Caviar Blue 1TB
Heatsink: still on the fence whether to order the Noctua NH-U12S right away or try the boxed cooler first.
The rest:
SDD: I already have a Samsung 840 250 GB SDD sleeping in my current PC that doesn't even have SATA3.
GPU: I intend to reuse my 9800GT (which is far too slow for a build like this) until there's a game that really needs a good graphics card. I know that I'll be able to play stuff like Starcraft II and Diablo III with this and that's all I need for now. When Star Citizen will come out I will invest in a great graphics card so that I'll then be able to enjoy that at high settings.
What I want is:
I want to buy something that will last for along time. I'd rather invest 100$ more now and be able to upgrade in the future than save now and not be able to upgrade. That's why I'm thinking about overclocking and SLI.
A very quiet PC. It should be very hard to hear it running when I'm only browsing the web.
Something that's future-proof. I stuck with my old PC for about 8 years and only upgraded it with used parts after 6 years.
By future proof I mean that I will be able to run Star Citizen when it comes out at reasonably high settings. Other than that I don't want to swap things out, but would rather add to what I already have if that makes sense.
My concerns:
Overclocking: With the build above I could overclock my CPU. Should I completely avoid that since it won't be worth it? I'm not an enthusiast and don't want to overclock for the sake of overclocking.
SLI/Crossfire:
With the mobo above I can think about using two graphics cards should I ever get the money and need to to it. The reason why I'm even considering this is that in four years or so I might be able to just slam another graphics card in there (which will be a lot cheaper then) instead of buying a new one. Is that a valid thought? And will I need a new PSU then? Because if so I'd rather buy it right away. Would a Seasonic 700 be enough for let's say two GTX 770s?
Occulus Rift:
Does the Occulus Rift take advantage of multiple GPUs? Let's say I'll get one or something similar in the future. Is it a reason to think about going the SLI route or not? Worth is subjective. But the typical consumer doesn't overclock for the sake of overclocking. A 4670 at 4.5GHz is going to have a longer useful life than one at 3.5GHz. And it certainly helps if you're trying to play the newest simulators, MMOs, and RTS, all of which tend to be CPU intensive. If you want SLI as an upgrade possibility then you'll need a Z87 board so you might as well get a 4670k and be able to overclock it if you so choose. Yes, you would want a 650w or 750w power supply if you want to potentially do SLI. A modular unit would also be suggested since it makes cable management easier which in turn makes adding in / upgrading things easier. Seasonic X and Platinum units (and other similar units from other brands) also come with a seven year warranty as opposed to the five or three found on the rest of the power supplies. SLI is as well subjective. If you think that the advantage of it being less expensive than an equivalent performing future video card outweighs the disadvantages, which include: - Generating more heat and consuming more power, which typically results in more noise. The video card is already the loudest component in a modern computer so adding another one... errr.
- Lack of (good) SLI support. Though I think this generally isn't a problem anymore.
- Potential failure. Two aging cards that are both out of warranty.
- Lack of memory. It was only three or so years ago where 1GB was considered more than enough. Now we have games using close to 3GB at 1080p on max settings.
- Micro-stuttering. I hope you're ignorant of this otherwise it's going to annoy the crap out of you.
Thanks for the feedback. I gave up on the SLI idea for now (also because of what Ropid said) and ordered a 520w PSU. Will get the Noctua heatsink once I think that I could use the extra power that I get from overclocking.
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I'd still go with the Noctua U12S heatsink - one of the straightforward and easiest mounting systems in the industry. Even if you aren't overclocking, I have far more piece of mind running a Noctua over the retail one haha. There's also the quiet PC perspective, as you already have a good base buying the Fractal R4. Older nVidia reference coolers (pre-680) weren't exactly quiet though, but that will be addressed once you move to a modern 700-series GPU.
Noctua has awesome customer support too - if there ever was a socket layout change, they would provide an updated adapter kit free of charge: See how they've taken care of customers in the past: http://www.noctua.at/main.php?show=productview&products_id=58
*Ok read your post again - you definitely mention quiet computing as a priority, so the Noctua would be a no-brainer then:
What I want is:
I want to buy something that will last for along time. I'd rather invest 100$ more now and be able to upgrade in the future than save now and not be able to upgrade. That's why I'm thinking about overclocking and SLI.
A very quiet PC. It should be very hard to hear it running when I'm only browsing the web.
Something that's future-proof. I stuck with my old PC for about 8 years and only upgraded it with used parts after 6 years.
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On September 01 2013 01:11 Weirdkid wrote:+ Show Spoiler +Is there anywhere I can check if the computer I plan to put together from scratch has any incompatibilities? This is my current plan. Will it all fit together properly? + Show Spoiler +Motherboard - MSI Z87-G45 Gaming
CPU - I5 4560K
GPU - MSI GTX 760 4GB Twin Frozr
RAM - Corsair Vengeance 1600MHz (4GB x 2pcs) CL9 Low Profile
Storage - Sandisk Ultra Plus 256GB SSD
Internal DVD-RW - Asus 24x DVD-RW Sata
PSU - Seasonic X Series 750W
Casing - Corsair 540 Airflow case
OS - Windows 8 64 Bit
Keyboard - CM Storm Quickfire Pro
Mouse - CM Spawn
Monitor - 2 x Dell 23" 2312HM
Headset - Cooler Master Ceres 400
Mousepad - Steelseries qck
Reason for the higher powered PSU = Plan to SLI and overclock in the future
Reason for 4GB GPU = Plan to SLI and probably going to try for triple monitor displays, so the extra vram could be useful
Yes, those parts are compatible. There's no such thing as an core i5 4560k, you probably mean the core i5 4670k which is indeed what you want.
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Hi, I need to build a computer to do schoolwork mainly, which usually just means browsing the internet using chrome. I plan on selling this computer later on and building a different one later, so the parts don't have to be spectacular.
I've built a computer before, and it had some kind of Asus motherboard with an i7 2600k which I never even ended up overclocking. It also had a gtx 560 ti. I'm wondering if I could get a system that would be just as fast at browsing the web as this system was, however I don't know if graphics cards are important for that so I'd like to cut costs by either getting a really cheap gpu or using integrated graphics.
I am not planning to do any crazy gaming on this computer, but if it's capable of running league/cs on low that would be cool. Not important at all though. It's all about web browsing speed or how it can handle having a few applications open at once (Multiple tabs on chrome, music player, Microsoft Word... stuff like that.)
What is your budget?
500$
What is your monitor's native resolution?
1920x1080 would be nice, but if speed suffers then I'd put the resolution down.
What games do you intend to play on this computer? What settings?
Possibly counter strike: go on lowest settings and league on lowest settings.
What do you intend to use the computer for besides gaming?
Browsing, watching videos, listening to music, schoolwork
Do you intend to overclock?
No
Do you intend to do SLI / Crossfire?
No
Do you need an operating system?
No
Do you need a monitor or any other peripherals and is this part of your budget?
No
If you have any requirements or brand preferences, please specify.
No
What country will you be buying your parts in?
Canada
If you have any retailer preferences, please specify.
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On September 01 2013 12:06 techjunkie wrote:+ Show Spoiler +Hi, I need to build a computer to do schoolwork mainly, which usually just means browsing the internet using chrome. I plan on selling this computer later on and building a different one later, so the parts don't have to be spectacular.
I've built a computer before, and it had some kind of Asus motherboard with an i7 2600k which I never even ended up overclocking. It also had a gtx 560 ti. I'm wondering if I could get a system that would be just as fast at browsing the web as this system was, however I don't know if graphics cards are important for that so I'd like to cut costs by either getting a really cheap gpu or using integrated graphics.
I am not planning to do any crazy gaming on this computer, but if it's capable of running league/cs on low that would be cool. Not important at all though. It's all about web browsing speed or how it can handle having a few applications open at once (Multiple tabs on chrome, music player, Microsoft Word... stuff like that.)
What is your budget?
500$
What is your monitor's native resolution?
1920x1080 would be nice, but if speed suffers then I'd put the resolution down.
What games do you intend to play on this computer? What settings?
Possibly counter strike: go on lowest settings and league on lowest settings.
What do you intend to use the computer for besides gaming?
Browsing, watching videos, listening to music, schoolwork
Do you intend to overclock?
No
Do you intend to do SLI / Crossfire?
No
Do you need an operating system?
No
Do you need a monitor or any other peripherals and is this part of your budget?
No
If you have any requirements or brand preferences, please specify.
No
What country will you be buying your parts in?
Canada
If you have any retailer preferences, please specify.
$456 before mail in rebates, taxes, shipping, and other applicable fees. Add disc drive and secondary storage if necessary.
AMD A10-5800K @ $129 (pricematch with http://www.ncix.com/products/?sku=76269&promoid=1190 )
http://www.memoryexpress.com/Products/MX41707
Gigabyte F2A85XM-D3H @ $76 (pricematch with http://ncix.com/products/?sku=76497&promoid=1190 )
http://www.memoryexpress.com/Products/MX42952
G.Skill RIpjawsX 2x4GB 2133MHz @ $70
http://www.memoryexpress.com/Products/MX34251
Fractal Design Core 1000 @ $40
http://www.memoryexpress.com/Products/MX37327
Corsair CX430 @ $43 (pricematch with http://www.directcanada.com/products/?sku=11180AC2578 )
http://www.memoryexpress.com/Products/MX41857
Samsung 840 120GB @ $98 (pricematch with http://www.ncix.com/products/?sku=77210&promoid=1190 )
http://www.memoryexpress.com/Products/MX43340
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Keep in mind that you can get by with a whole lot less and have the computer seem exactly as responsive for everything stated above.
If you're not interested in spending $500 (as in, all of $500), if that's not necessary, you can certainly cut down.
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United Kingdom20274 Posts
AMD A-SERIES FARCRY3: Blood DRAGON Electronic Digital Download *AMD Promo Only* (a $59.99 value!)
Biggest bullshit ever lol unless it comes with more stuff
Good build
Keep in mind that you can get by with a whole lot less and have the computer seem exactly as responsive for everything stated above.
If you're not interested in spending $500 (as in, all of $500), if that's not necessary, you can certainly cut down.
Yea you can, but 5800k is nice, 8gb ram nice, ssd super important for high responsiveness and fast system. Out of all the stuff linked, the only places to really cut would be stuff like 4gb ram instead, or cheaper mobo/apu, but i can't see there being some amazing value there, just cheaper to go lower end
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Nice for what? Web browsing? LoL on lowest? etc.? This is the kind of stuff those $400-500 laptops can do fine.
If it's on Core 2 Duo level or so, we're covered there. I mean, an Ivy Bridge Celeron or Trinity/Richland A4 is ~$50 and would feel the same. The only place you'd notice a difference in performance is by sticking an SSD in there or stepping down to an Atom / Bobcat level CPU. If the computer is going to be flipped in short order anyway, I'm not really seeing the need for a motherboard like that, RAM of that speed (depending on usage, 8GB may be warranted, but it could very well not be), and you could get away with a cheaper case and possibly power supply if you want to roll the dice.
But if there's $500 to spend and you're banking on resale value, sure. It's just way past what someone needs to fulfill the practically nonexistent requirements.
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United Kingdom20274 Posts
Hm good points. I'd still buy something like it to have more of a system, rather than an inflexible thing that crumbles when you apply cpu/gpu load, but that's down to individual wants
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I would just change for an A75 motherboard to save $15, IIRC the only differences are Crossfire and a couple of SATA ports. Quad-core is a must IMO especially because "dual-core" APUs are actually single module. With the SSD it should be snappier than pretty much any system without.
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United Kingdom3685 Posts
Hey guys, just wanted to say thanks again to everyone who helped me with my build. I put all the parts together yesterday and my new PC runs like a dream. Cyro, Myrmidon, skyR, Ropid, you guys are awesome!
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On September 01 2013 11:27 skyR wrote:Show nested quote +On September 01 2013 01:11 Weirdkid wrote:+ Show Spoiler +Is there anywhere I can check if the computer I plan to put together from scratch has any incompatibilities? This is my current plan. Will it all fit together properly? + Show Spoiler +Motherboard - MSI Z87-G45 Gaming
CPU - I5 4560K
GPU - MSI GTX 760 4GB Twin Frozr
RAM - Corsair Vengeance 1600MHz (4GB x 2pcs) CL9 Low Profile
Storage - Sandisk Ultra Plus 256GB SSD
Internal DVD-RW - Asus 24x DVD-RW Sata
PSU - Seasonic X Series 750W
Casing - Corsair 540 Airflow case
OS - Windows 8 64 Bit
Keyboard - CM Storm Quickfire Pro
Mouse - CM Spawn
Monitor - 2 x Dell 23" 2312HM
Headset - Cooler Master Ceres 400
Mousepad - Steelseries qck
Reason for the higher powered PSU = Plan to SLI and overclock in the future
Reason for 4GB GPU = Plan to SLI and probably going to try for triple monitor displays, so the extra vram could be useful Yes, those parts are compatible. There's no such thing as an core i5 4560k, you probably mean the core i5 4670k which is indeed what you want.
Ah yes, typed wrong. Should be the i5 4670k indeed  Thank you very much!
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What is your current build?
Mobo: Asus P5Q-SE2
CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo E6300 OC@3.03Ghz (40°C idle, 60°C heavy load)
CPU-cooler: Zalman CNPS 10X Extreme
RAM: Kingston HyperX KHX8500D2K2/2G @1033Mhz
GPU: MSI N9400GT-MD1G
HDD: Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3320820AS, 320GB
Monitor: Acer AL2216w (22", 1680x1050, 5ms)
Keyboard: Steelseries 6GV2
Mouse: Steelseries Sensei
Speakers: Logitech X-540
OS: Windows 7 / Ubuntu
PSU: OCZ StealthXStream 600W with a broken fan(it currently has a 80mm fan blowing on the side of it), i also have a RS-390-PMSR-A3 but that one doesnt have gpu connectors.
I also have a HD4870x2 with an Accelero Extreme cooler, but the card uses alot of power all the time and gets really hot on my already hot (overclocked) mobo and there is some sort of bad contact with the fan connector causing it to run at too low rpm or just stop running at all...
As of lately when i play SC2 with the HD4870x2 the screen sometimes starts to flicker so i decided to use the n9400gt.
I have a soldering tool and a spare 120mm fan at hand so i will try to fix the PSU and the cooler on the HD4870x2, but i'd rather get another GPU.
So, i have bought a new mobo, cpu & ram 2nd hand, which should arrive somewhere next week. They still have 20 months guarantee, payed 92€ for the lot. (assuming its all in good shape, was this a good deal?)
Mobo: Asrock Z77 Pro3
CPU: Intel® Pentium® Processor G645 (3M Cache, 2.90 GHz)
RAM: 2GB Kingston Valueram 1333Mhz DDR3
The plan is to upgrade this in the future with:
GPU: Nvidia GTX 5/6xx (560Ti/570/580/650Ti/660Ti?) 1, 1,5, 2 or 3GDDR5?, how about the 4870x2 +n9400gt for physx?)
CPU: Intel i5 k-series (i5/i7? sandy bridge/ivy bridge?)
RAM: 8GB 1600Mhz DDR3 (will 4/8GB 1333Mhz DDR3 be enough?)
SSD: 120/128 GB (500+Mbps read only or write also high speed? lower read speeds?)
Monitor: 24" full-HD 2ms
Watercooling for CPU and GPU. (EK-watercooling looks like a nice brand to me)
What is your monitor's native resolution?
1680 x 1050
Why do you want to upgrade? What do you want to achieve with the upgrade?
My current build is quite old, looking like a time-bomb with all those wires coming out and sounds like a boeing 747 taking off, when i play a 4v4 SC2 game my computer barely keeps up on high settings.
My aim is to have a computer that can handle 4v4 games in SC2 on 1920×1080 highest settings, play Counter-strike 1.6, play music and 1080p movies with 5.1 sound.
Also fast loading times, low energy consumption, low noise, small package.
I don't mind overclocks/firmware flashes/other modifications that raise performance, but energy consumption comes to mind.
My next upgrade should be somewhere in a year or 2
What is your budget?
My budget is quite small, so mostly i will be buying components piece by piece on the 2nd hand market with what money i have left over at the end of the month(mostly about 100-200€).
I don't mind buying parts that are not available in stores anymore.
CPU: ~200€ retail
GPU: ~100-200€ retail
SSD: ~100€ retail
Monitor: ~150€ retail
RAM: ~50€ retail
What country will you be buying your parts in?
Belgium, Holland.
If you have any brand or retailer preferences, please specify.
Intel i5/i7 K-series, Nvidia, EVGA, Asus, Iiyama, i'm just looking for a good quality, service and price/performance ratio in the components i will buy.
This will also ensure that someone might want to buy them from me in the future if i decide to upgrade again.
Using tweakers.net(Dutch site) or hardware.be(Belgian site) for retail prices.
So, my questions are:
How good was the upgrade i did?
Do i really need a further upgrade to reach my aim?
If so; what components should i replace with which ones in what order?
What components should i definitely NOT get?
Any feedback is appreciated, thank you.
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On September 01 2013 12:06 techjunkie wrote:
Hi, I need to build a computer to do schoolwork mainly, which usually just means browsing the internet using chrome. I plan on selling this computer later on and building a different one later, so the parts don't have to be spectacular.
I've built a computer before, and it had some kind of Asus motherboard with an i7 2600k which I never even ended up overclocking. It also had a gtx 560 ti. I'm wondering if I could get a system that would be just as fast at browsing the web as this system was, however I don't know if graphics cards are important for that so I'd like to cut costs by either getting a really cheap gpu or using integrated graphics.
I am not planning to do any crazy gaming on this computer, but if it's capable of running league/cs on low that would be cool. Not important at all though. It's all about web browsing speed or how it can handle having a few applications open at once (Multiple tabs on chrome, music player, Microsoft Word... stuff like that.)
What is your budget?
500$
What is your monitor's native resolution?
1920x1080 would be nice, but if speed suffers then I'd put the resolution down.
What games do you intend to play on this computer? What settings?
Possibly counter strike: go on lowest settings and league on lowest settings.
What do you intend to use the computer for besides gaming?
Browsing, watching videos, listening to music, schoolwork
Do you intend to overclock?
No
Do you intend to do SLI / Crossfire?
No
Do you need an operating system?
No
Do you need a monitor or any other peripherals and is this part of your budget?
No
If you have any requirements or brand preferences, please specify.
No
What country will you be buying your parts in?
Canada
If you have any retailer preferences, please specify.
I am not sure how much money you would lose selling the computer down the line. I would suggest building a computer now and adding a GPU in the future. (and if you are limited to $500 for sure, only sell an i3 CPU) Once again, this depends on how easy it is for you to sell a whole computer vs a CPU and secondhand prices of hardware.
GA-Z87X-UD3H @ $133.75 – 30MIR http://www.memoryexpress.com/Products/MX46024 pricematch with http://www.ncix.ca/products/?sku=84042&vpn=GA-Z87X-UD3H&manufacture=Gigabyte&promoid=1190
G.Skill RIpjawsX 2x4GB 2133MHz @ $70
http://www.memoryexpress.com/Products/MX34251
Corsair CX430 @ $43 http://www.memoryexpress.com/Products/MX41857
pricematch with http://www.directcanada.com/products/?sku=11180AC2578
Corsair Carbide Series 300R @ $58.38 http://www.memoryexpress.com/Products/MX37031
pricematch with http://www.bestdirect.ca/products/239883/CORSAIR/CC_9011014_WW/
Seagate Barracuda 1TB @ $58.75 http://www.memoryexpress.com/Products/MX36523 pricematch withhttp://ncix.com/products/?sku=65701&vpn=ST1000DM003&manufacture=Seagate&promoid=1190
(MISSING CPU) That is $363.95+$5shipping+tax
Intel Pentium G3220 @ $72.99
Intel Core i3-4130 @ $134.99
both at newegg which we all know is usually overpriced, memeoryexpress and others should start having them very soon.
If you can go over budget, then a 4670k @ $235 would allow you to simply add a GPU down the road and not have to sell anything.
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United Kingdom20274 Posts
My aim is to have a computer that can handle 4v4 games in SC2 on 1920×1080 highest settings
The pentium is pretty bad (decent, but 2 core, 2.9ghz sandy bridge) though you're planning to replace that, but you got a z77 pro3, which is one of the lowest tier boards for last gen sandy/ivy bridge, you'd be limited to low-med overclock on an i5 3570k. It's not a board you'd want for custom water, you can't throw high end vcores through it or expect it to perform the best out of the z77 lineup, it's among the boards that stick out at the low end like the asus p8z77-v lx2
You're on the right track (oc i5) but paying like 60 euro for a motherboard to run a water setup isn't the best of ideas.
Pretty much nothing will keep great framerates with a ton of supply, especially with physics/reflections on and maxed effects, keep that in mind
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On September 02 2013 00:14 Pier wrote:+ Show Spoiler +What is your current build?Mobo: Asus P5Q-SE2CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo E6300 OC@3.03Ghz (40°C idle, 60°C heavy load) CPU-cooler: Zalman CNPS 10X ExtremeRAM: Kingston HyperX KHX8500D2K2/2G @1033Mhz GPU: MSI N9400GT-MD1GHDD: Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3320820AS, 320GBMonitor: Acer AL2216w (22", 1680x1050, 5ms) Keyboard: Steelseries 6GV2 Mouse: Steelseries Sensei Speakers: Logitech X-540 OS: Windows 7 / Ubuntu PSU: OCZ StealthXStream 600W with a broken fan(it currently has a 80mm fan blowing on the side of it), i also have a RS-390-PMSR-A3 but that one doesnt have gpu connectors. I also have a HD4870x2 with an Accelero Extreme cooler, but the card uses alot of power all the time and gets really hot on my already hot (overclocked) mobo and there is some sort of bad contact with the fan connector causing it to run at too low rpm or just stop running at all... As of lately when i play SC2 with the HD4870x2 the screen sometimes starts to flicker so i decided to use the n9400gt. I have a soldering tool and a spare 120mm fan at hand so i will try to fix the PSU and the cooler on the HD4870x2, but i'd rather get another GPU. So, i have bought a new mobo, cpu & ram 2nd hand, which should arrive somewhere next week. They still have 20 months guarantee, payed 92€ for the lot. (assuming its all in good shape, was this a good deal?) Mobo: Asrock Z77 Pro3CPU: Intel® Pentium® Processor G645 (3M Cache, 2.90 GHz)RAM: 2GB Kingston Valueram 1333Mhz DDR3 The plan is to upgrade this in the future with: GPU: Nvidia GTX 5/6xx (560Ti/570/580/650Ti/660Ti?) 1, 1,5, 2 or 3GDDR5?, how about the 4870x2 +n9400gt for physx?) CPU: Intel i5 k-series (i5/i7? sandy bridge/ivy bridge?) RAM: 8GB 1600Mhz DDR3 (will 4/8GB 1333Mhz DDR3 be enough?) SSD: 120/128 GB (500+Mbps read only or write also high speed? lower read speeds?) Monitor: 24" full-HD 2ms Watercooling for CPU and GPU. (EK-watercooling looks like a nice brand to me) What is your monitor's native resolution?1680 x 1050 Why do you want to upgrade? What do you want to achieve with the upgrade?My current build is quite old, looking like a time-bomb with all those wires coming out and sounds like a boeing 747 taking off, when i play a 4v4 SC2 game my computer barely keeps up on high settings. My aim is to have a computer that can handle 4v4 games in SC2 on 1920×1080 highest settings, play Counter-strike 1.6, play music and 1080p movies with 5.1 sound. Also fast loading times, low energy consumption, low noise, small package. I don't mind overclocks/firmware flashes/other modifications that raise performance, but energy consumption comes to mind. My next upgrade should be somewhere in a year or 2 What is your budget?My budget is quite small, so mostly i will be buying components piece by piece on the 2nd hand market with what money i have left over at the end of the month(mostly about 100-200€). I don't mind buying parts that are not available in stores anymore. CPU: ~200€ retail GPU: ~100-200€ retail SSD: ~100€ retail Monitor: ~150€ retail RAM: ~50€ retail What country will you be buying your parts in?Belgium, Holland. If you have any brand or retailer preferences, please specify.Intel i5/i7 K-series, Nvidia, EVGA, Asus, Iiyama, i'm just looking for a good quality, service and price/performance ratio in the components i will buy. This will also ensure that someone might want to buy them from me in the future if i decide to upgrade again. Using tweakers.net(Dutch site) or hardware.be(Belgian site) for retail prices. So, my questions are: How good was the upgrade i did? Do i really need a further upgrade to reach my aim? If so; what components should i replace with which ones in what order? What components should i definitely NOT get? Any feedback is appreciated, thank you.
An i5-3570k should be a good choice for this board and cooler.
Cyro said you should not expect to do more than light to moderate overclocking of an i5-3570k with this board. What this means concretely is, this board can do perhaps 1.25 V voltage at most for the CPU. This also happens to be about what you can keep cool with the Zalman CNPS10x Extreme cooler you have, which is a pretty strong air cooler. So it would fit together well in my opinion. You won't have to buy anything else for cooling.
How much of an overclock this will be depends on how lucky you are with the particular i5-3570k you will buy. If you put 1.25 V into the 3570k, you should expect about 4.5 GHz if you don't get lucky nor unlucky. There is no trick to improve your chances as far as I know.
Don't buy a used Sandy Bridge i5 or i7 (i5-2500k or i7-2700k for example). Those want to eat more power and use more voltage which will not work well with this ASRock Z77 Pro3 board.
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United Kingdom20274 Posts
Watercooling for CPU and GPU. (EK-watercooling looks like a nice brand to me)
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On September 02 2013 02:10 Cyro wrote:Show nested quote +Watercooling for CPU and GPU. (EK-watercooling looks like a nice brand to me)
Right... I didn't notice that part of the post as I didn't read it well enough. I feel that's a pretty useless idea. 
Anyway... answering this post seems fun, so here's some ideas on what I'd do in that situation as I'm also someone that likes to tinker and use ghetto solutions for things:
On September 02 2013 00:14 Pier wrote:
I also have a HD4870x2 with an Accelero Extreme cooler, but the card uses alot of power all the time and gets really hot on my already hot (overclocked) mobo and there is some sort of bad contact with the fan connector causing it to run at too low rpm or just stop running at all...
As of lately when i play SC2 with the HD4870x2 the screen sometimes starts to flicker so i decided to use the n9400gt.
I have a soldering tool and a spare 120mm fan at hand so i will try to fix the PSU and the cooler on the HD4870x2, but i'd rather get another GPU.
No idea about the fan connector problems, but about the heat in general... that shouldn't be the case. You might want to check the contact of the cooler and GPU chip. I also have an Arctic GPU cooler, and the quality of the surface of its copper base plate was atrocious. It barely managed to beat the original cooler that came with my GPU.
After taking off the Arctic cooler, the imprint of thermal paste looked a bit like this (it's an unrelated picture but the imprint happened to look like this): http://www.hardocp.com/images/articles/1360041940g0V9mOPxpy_6_5_l.jpg
I managed to fix that by lapping the surface of the base. Just went outside and sat in the sun and polished it for an hour with a grinding stone for garden tools like this one until it was flat and shiny: http://www.amazon.de/Schleifstein-Sensenwetzstein-oval-230-mm/dp/B004XVLF5Q/
The thermal paste imprint is now perfect and temperatures are so low I'm getting scared overclocking as the GPU itself will always stay pretty cool while the VRM is burning up.
On September 02 2013 00:14 Pier wrote:
PSU: OCZ StealthXStream 600W with a broken fan(it currently has a 80mm fan blowing on the side of it), i also have a RS-390-PMSR-A3 but that one doesnt have gpu connectors.
I vaguely remember very bad reviews about the old OCZ PSUs. You might want to check that and maybe look into buying a new one. [edit: I went and tried to look this up, and it seems I was wrong! It's not a dangerous PSU or anything, and it is pretty solid.]
If you want to tinker with it and replace the fan, make sure to google what people say about working on open PSUs.
The large capacitors can keep a charge for weeks I was warned. You can dissipate most of it by disconnecting power and then pressing the power button on the case a few times or keeping it pressed for a while. That's how I did it when I opened a PSU a few times in the past. If you want to discharge the capacitors completely because you want to touch them, you have to connect their contacts with an isolated screwdriver.
You should try to not touch anything inside with both hands. If you get shocked on only one hand, you can't die!
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The older OCZ PSUs like StealthXStream / SXS II / ModXStream Pro had reliability problems as "evidenced" by anecdotal failure rates (though seriously, they seemed a bit too common per unit sold compared to some others), not actually issues with performance when tested.
btw if you checked a hardwaresecrets review, ignore the rating given. The reviews are good overall, but the scores are a bit loose and inconsistent.
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On September 02 2013 00:59 Cyro wrote:Show nested quote +My aim is to have a computer that can handle 4v4 games in SC2 on 1920×1080 highest settings The pentium is pretty bad (decent, but 2 core, 2.9ghz sandy bridge) though you're planning to replace that, but you got a z77 pro3, which is one of the lowest tier boards for last gen sandy/ivy bridge, you'd be limited to low-med overclock on an i5 3570k. It's not a board you'd want for custom water, you can't throw high end vcores through it or expect it to perform the best out of the z77 lineup, it's among the boards that stick out at the low end like the asus p8z77-v lx2 You're on the right track (oc i5) but paying like 60 euro for a motherboard to run a water setup isn't the best of ideas. Pretty much nothing will keep great framerates with a ton of supply, especially with physics/reflections on and maxed effects, keep that in mind
It was 50 for the board, 30 for the cpu and 12 for the RAM or about 60% retail, just seemed like a good deal to start with an upgrade to s1155. Buying everything at once wont work because i simply wont have the money.
Playing 4v4 games in SC2 on 1920×1080 highest settings is my ultimate goal, i will settle with 1v1 on high/ultra settings 1680x1050, i guess that's a more realistic approach.
What Mobo/CPU would you recommend for i5 overclocking?
On September 02 2013 02:10 Cyro wrote:
Watercooling for CPU and GPU. (EK-watercooling looks like a nice brand to me)
Watercooling is very optional, i'm considering it since i will be overclocking and my current cooler is annoying me, but that might be resolved by getting a case in which the cooler actually fits. If i decide to get water cooling, i will do this only after i buy a new CPU and GPU.
On September 02 2013 02:06 Ropid wrote:
An i5-3570k should be a good choice for this board and cooler.
Cyro said you should not expect to do more than light to moderate overclocking of an i5-3570k with this board. What this means concretely is, this board can do perhaps 1.25 V voltage at most for the CPU. This also happens to be about what you can keep cool with the Zalman CNPS10x Extreme cooler you have, which is a pretty strong air cooler. So it would fit together well in my opinion. You won't have to buy anything else for cooling.
How much of an overclock this will be depends on how lucky you are with the particular i5-3570k you will buy. If you put 1.25 V into the 3570k, you should expect about 4.5 GHz if you don't get lucky nor unlucky. There is no trick to improve your chances as far as I know.
Don't buy a used Sandy Bridge i5 or i7 (i5-2500k or i7-2700k for example). Those want to eat more power and use more voltage which will not work well with this ASRock Z77 Pro3 board.
So, i will use the z77pro3 and try to get a 2nd hand 3570k for a good price, otherwise i'll just buy one new and see how much i can get out of it.
On September 02 2013 03:21 Ropid wrote:Anyway... answering this post seems fun, so here's some ideas on what I'd do in that situation as I'm also someone that likes to tinker and use ghetto solutions for things: Show nested quote +On September 02 2013 00:14 Pier wrote:
I also have a HD4870x2 with an Accelero Extreme cooler, but the card uses alot of power all the time and gets really hot on my already hot (overclocked) mobo and there is some sort of bad contact with the fan connector causing it to run at too low rpm or just stop running at all...
As of lately when i play SC2 with the HD4870x2 the screen sometimes starts to flicker so i decided to use the n9400gt.
I have a soldering tool and a spare 120mm fan at hand so i will try to fix the PSU and the cooler on the HD4870x2, but i'd rather get another GPU. No idea about the fan connector problems, but about the heat in general... that shouldn't be the case. You might want to check the contact of the cooler and GPU chip. I also have an Arctic GPU cooler, and the quality of the surface of its copper base plate was atrocious. It barely managed to beat the original cooler that came with my GPU.
I have already removed the cooler in the past to replace the thermal paste, and i think the baseplates were in great shape, it's just the 4870x2 has 2 GPU's on one card which is why they are so hot.
On September 02 2013 03:21 Ropid wrote:
If you get shocked on only one hand, you can't die!
Didn't knew that one!
On September 02 2013 03:41 Myrmidon wrote:
The older OCZ PSUs like StealthXStream / SXS II / ModXStream Pro had reliability problems as "evidenced" by anecdotal failure rates (though seriously, they seemed a bit too common per unit sold compared to some others), not actually issues with performance when tested.
btw if you checked a hardwaresecrets review, ignore the rating given. The reviews are good overall, but the scores are a bit loose and inconsistent.
Even without fan, the PSU kept working, it was really hot when i noticed the fan had stopped so i shut it down.
Thanks for the replies so far, for now i'll wait until my new motherboard arrives and see how it performs with the hopefully fixed 4870x2, if i don't die of electrocution first.
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EPT
