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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. |
re: CPU — most games don't need the extra CPU performance really (SC2 does though), and the extra costs for cooling, motherboard, and CPU add up. You could upgrade all of these if you really want. See above and also bottom of this post.
re: memory — depends on what kind of databases, what kind of operations. There's room for 16 GB if you need more later. If you really think 32 GB might be necessary, get 2 x 8GB.
re: motherboard — any kind of non-trivial CPU upgrade in the future will require a new motherboard regardless of what you get now, and these don't improve performance. This is just about allowing overclocking (if you also spend on K series processor) and getting more ports and such. A motherboard is not really a good place to spend extra money unless you need the extra features offered.
re: power supply — Hale82 (modular) is a stock Seasonic M12II (the higher-wattage, better version) build. All XFX power supplies are stock Seasonic builds, Seasonic OEM. XFX Core 450W and 550W would be a bit worse but definitely fine for the system. All the other non-EOL 80 plus bronze units (modular and non-modular) from XFX are the same exact design as the Hale82 uses. Everything else is more expensive. I didn't much like the PSU selection. There were a lot of power supplies that were kind of okay and a little cheaper, but Hale82 is a lot better than them. And nothing significantly better that wasn't much more expensive (cheapest that is significantly better is Cooler Master V700).
re: case — no, it's not small. It has 120 mm fans, which are pretty standard. They're enough for most systems unless you run multiple graphics cards.
re: cooling — no additional cooling needed unless you change multiple parts and overclock the CPU. Then you'd get a decent CPU cooler.
For a medium overclock: i5-4670k, MSI Z87-G43, and Hyper 212 EVO. (or so)
For a heavier / higher quality / enthusiast tweaker overclock: i5-4670k, Gigabyte Z87X-D3H, Prolimatech Megahalems, Corsair SP120 High Performance (a decent board should support voltage control for that)
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Hello.
My old laptop has bitten the dust, so looking to get a new one over Christmas. Budget is $1000.
Uses will be
- casual gaming (CSGO, Battlefield, SC2) with no need for maxed out graphics, but would prefer it to be playable at medium settings or above.
- casual photo editing (photoshop)
- casual video editing (sony vegas, adobe after effects, some 3D programs)
- everyday use (university, streaming, data analysis (stata, excel etc.), browsing)
I have been looking around and comparing prices, and generally it looks like Lenovo, for some reason, can offer so much more bang for buck than any others, judging by CPU, RAM, HDD and GPU. Why? I have never heard anything about Lenovo. Any experiences? Should I rather stick to a more trusted brand like Asus? What about other brands like msi?
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1000 USD? Which country are you buying in?
Lenovo bought IBM's personal computer business in 2005. Since then they've managed to reduce prices (and quality) of IBM's iconic business-class computer lines and then introduce more consumer-oriented products. They're very big (top in worldwide sales by number of units) and fairly good generally.
As for the brands, it depends on the models. That said, MSIs are often cheapish. A few too many models are plasticky and/or underspec'd on cooling.
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Maybe look into Lenovo's Y510. They feature a GT 750M in SLI and an i7 4700MQ. Not sure how much it will cost in Norway though.
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About to build my bro's pc for him (when parts come)
after the build is done and the pc boots into mobo and everything, and i install an OS,
I was told to do some testings.
I know that i have to run prime 95 and such.
but is this only if im overclocking? (i plan on maybe overclocking only the GPU).
what if i dont overclock? do i still have to run these tests?
also, do i run the tests, OC, then run it again?
or do i OC first and run the test?
for clarification not going to be overclocking the CPU, and only the GPU.
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United Kingdom20326 Posts
I know that i have to run prime 95 and such.
You don't, and probably shouldn't, even if you are overclocking the CPU. The stock cooler can't handle prime on haswell cpu
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/WeYbCpc.png)
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On December 18 2013 16:21 wptlzkwjd wrote:
Maybe look into Lenovo's Y510. They feature a GT 750M in SLI and an i7 4700MQ. Not sure how much it will cost in Norway though.
That's exactly the one I have been looking at. I find it almost hilarious how that laptop can feature such "high end" hardware relative to other laptops in the same price range. That's probably the one I'll go for then, although it's slightly above $1000 in Norway ($1150). However, it's not a GT 750M, it's the GT 740M. A lot of noteable difference?
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United Kingdom20326 Posts
Seems like there's two versions of the 740m, anyone know more about that?
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+ Show Spoiler +On December 18 2013 19:29 Cyro wrote:You don't, and probably shouldn't, even if you are overclocking the CPU. The stock cooler can't handle prime on haswell cpu
what kind of testings should i be doing?
also, do I do these testings before OC ( GPU ) and again after the OC or just after i oc
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United Kingdom20326 Posts
Just find a GPU OC guide. Probably something simple like running heaven 4.0 and playing with clocks/volts to find your OC, then tweaking it a little if there's any issues
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+ Show Spoiler +Ahoi, everyone. Iso your help again. A good friend of mine has gotten some stuff for free, but he is missing some items. He asked me to help him, but I'm a noob too. Here we go. Items he got 4 phree: Mainboard: ASUS M4A77T/USB3 GFX: GeiL value plus 2 x 2 GB DDR3-1333 CL 7 7 7 24 RAM: GTS250 "Deep green" Gainward 1024 MB GDDR3 Items I have already found to complete his system: CPU: AMD FX-6300 6x 3.50GHz AM3+ --> 95,27 EUR by www.mindfactory.de (cheapest AM3+) PSU: 450 Watt Super Flower Golden Green PRO Non-Modular 80+ Gold --> 65,84 by www.mindfactory.de (cheapest 80+ Gold) Not sure about CPU fan. Either he will use the old one or I will recommend him Scythe Mugen 4 Tower (35,83). Optical drives (no blue-ray), noname case (no cable management -.-) and some crappy 200 GB HDD (I loled :D) will be the old ones. But I will try to convince him to buy at least Seagate Barracuda 1TB SATA III (48,13 EUR) and to through away 200Gb nonsense. All-in-all about 250 EUR to spend. What do you think, guys? Should I add something? Upgrade or downgrade?
So, what do you think, guys? Should I finalize the system as above?
I dunno :0 doesn't look too bad
I think I made a huge mistake.
Yea, Im a noob, but its just an excuse...
The mainboard, that my friend has, is ASUS M4A77T/USB3 and its an AM3. CPU I have bought is AMD FX-6300 6x 3.50GHz so its AM3+. One math sign can make one hell of a difference.
I have put the system together already and started it. Of course no sign of BIOS on the screen.
Now I just fear, that I killed the mainboard or CPU. Or even both. And I just have to buy all the stuff for my friend.
Like I said above, Im noob. Shame noone pointed at my mistake earlier. Shit happens.
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Your board doesn't support the newer FX processors. Nothing bad happened, it just doesn't work with the board.
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I just waked my friend up. LOL. He was "happy". Thank you, skyR, for good news!
Because I thought I killed CPU and mainboard and already told my friend about it, we decided to upgrade the system a little bit further.
He is ready to throw the free stuff away. I have advised him to buy:
Mainboard: Asus M5A97 Evo R2.0 AMD 970 --> Here @ mindfactory.de 77,49 EUR
RAM: 8GB G.Skill RipJawsX DDR3-2133 DIMM CL11 Dual Kit --> I think its 1.5V ones --> Here @ mindfactory.de 63,84 EUR
GFX: 1024MB XFX Radeon HD 7770 Here @ mindfactory.de 83,77 EUR
I know, its 1 year too late for those items, but my friend is stubborn and I only got stress with him. 
So all in all system will be like this:
CPU: AMD FX-6300 6x 3.50GHz AM3+
HDD: Seagate Barracuda 7200.14 1TB SATA 3
SSD: Samsung 840 EVO 120 GB
PSU: Super Flower Golden Green PRO SF-450P14XE
HSF: Scythe Mugen 4
Case: Fractal Design Define R4 Black Pearl
DVD: Samsung SH-224DB/BEBE
What do you think, guys? Really need your helping advices.
PS: I just wanted to add one thing. All in all it costs around 700 EUR.
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+ Show Spoiler +
What is your budget?
$800-$1200 (nothing strict, I can go over)
What is your monitor's native resolution?
1680x1050. May buy a new one.
What games do you intend to play on this computer? What settings?
Not a ton of gaming. Would like to play starcraft on medium at least. I don't mind spending a bit extra if I change my mind and play a few more games. I definitely don't need to play AAA on high settings.
What do you intend to use the computer for besides gaming?
Basic Office type stuff, programming, some medium size database work, HD stream watching. 2 monitors (3 if it's inexpensive/easy to do)
Do you intend to overclock?
no
Do you intend to do SLI / Crossfire?
no
Do you need an operating system?
Yes. Whatever version of windows is preferred.
Do you need a monitor or any other peripherals and is this part of your budget?
keyboard, mouse for big hands. I would like to try a mechanical keyboard. Mouse only needs to be decent.
What country will you be buying your parts in?
USA
Thank you. Sorry if I have missed anything.
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On December 19 2013 00:29 Cyro wrote:
Just find a GPU OC guide. Probably something simple like running heaven 4.0 and playing with clocks/volts to find your OC, then tweaking it a little if there's any issues
so the build there isnt any test i should run? (or is that only for overclocking CPU? which i am not.)
and after I OC my gpu, how do i test it to make sure theres no problems?
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[b]$700-$750 is what I'm looking to spend
[b]1920x1080 is my monitor's native resolution
[b]I intend to play Starcraft II on Low settings. Now, I know there is a difference between smoothly running 1v1 and big team games so just to be safe, since I do play team games occasionally, I'd like a build that will support low settings even in big team games, such as 3v3.
[b]Other uses besides gaming: Personally streaming my own Starcraft II gameplay in 720p, Skype, streaming music, watching streams in HD, downloading music/movies
[b]Overclock?no
[b]SLI/Crossfire? no
[b]Yes, Windows 7 or 8, whichever is cheaper and of course viable.
[b]Monitor/other peripherals are not included in my budget.
[b] What I was looking for in prebuilts before I decided to try out building my own pc was an i5 cpu, 6-8gb of memory,and a reliable graphics card. So that is essentially what I want. I don't know much about the other hardware really so if you guys could help me pick out the other hardware (hard drive, motherboard,etc), that is where I am most at a loss. Also, I'd like a not so big case, medium sized at the most.
[b]USA
[b]I'm looking to buy from Newegg. I'm open to suggestions tho.
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United Kingdom20326 Posts
On December 19 2013 12:50 IMKR wrote:Show nested quote +On December 19 2013 00:29 Cyro wrote:
Just find a GPU OC guide. Probably something simple like running heaven 4.0 and playing with clocks/volts to find your OC, then tweaking it a little if there's any issues so the build there isnt any test i should run? (or is that only for overclocking CPU? which i am not.) and after I OC my gpu, how do i test it to make sure theres no problems?
You test it during the OC, not after (and that's most of overclocking)
There's no way to know what to set stuff to if you're not testing it during the OC process
Sorry to hear about am3/am3+ thing - that's why i hate commenting but nobody else replied D:
On December 19 2013 13:36 qGSkipper wrote:
[b]$700-$750 is what I'm looking to spend
[b]1920x1080 is my monitor's native resolution
[b]I intend to play Starcraft II on Low settings. Now, I know there is a difference between smoothly running 1v1 and big team games so just to be safe, since I do play team games occasionally, I'd like a build that will support low settings even in big team games, such as 3v3.
[b]Other uses besides gaming: Personally streaming my own Starcraft II gameplay in 720p, Skype, streaming music, watching streams in HD, downloading music/movies
[b]Overclock?no
[b]SLI/Crossfire? no
[b]Yes, Windows 7 or 8, whichever is cheaper and of course viable.
[b]Monitor/other peripherals are not included in my budget.
[b] What I was looking for in prebuilts before I decided to try out building my own pc was an i5 cpu, 6-8gb of memory,and a reliable graphics card. So that is essentially what I want. I don't know much about the other hardware really so if you guys could help me pick out the other hardware (hard drive, motherboard,etc), that is where I am most at a loss. Also, I'd like a not so big case, medium sized at the most.
[b]USA
[b]I'm looking to buy from Newegg. I'm open to suggestions tho.
i5 4670
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Canada4481 Posts
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EPT
