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United Kingdom20322 Posts
liquid cooling is heavily reliant on airflow too 
air = using fans to blow air through heatsink fins to cool via convection
liquid = using fans to blow air through radiator fins to cool via convection
that's kinda why most people making assumptions like "oh, liquid is super quiet", or even "liquid performs well" especially as a generalization, can be very wrong
My first thoughts: You need a CPU cooler
The Hero is very overpriced unless you need specific stuff that's on it but not on other boards, and the cost is cheaper than the potential/annoyance to get those things in other ways like pci-e add-in cards
PSU seems expensive, i don't know about that model in particular and am too tired to go digging through reviews atm, but do you understand how much 750w is for modern computer components? You can go and run sli970's with a 4690k on a 650, so you need some pretty serious uses to justify 750w rated unit, unless it's one that you just plan to keep for like 8 years. If that's the case, why get an 80+ bronze unit (i didn't check other quality stuff) with a 3 year warranty, instead of a cheaper, more efficient, probably higher quality unit with a 5 year warranty? There are even 8-10 year warranty good quality PSU's out there AFAIK, if you're not buying for your power consumption now (..like 200w with oc'd cpu) but for years into the future
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On December 15 2014 21:38 Cyro wrote:liquid cooling is heavily reliant on airflow too My first thoughts: You need a CPU cooler The Hero is very overpriced unless you need specific stuff that's on it, but not on other boards, and the cost outweighs the potential/annoyance to get those things in other ways like pci-e add-in cards PSU seems expensive, i don't know about that model in particular and am too tired to go digging through reviews atm, but do you understand how much 750w is for modern computer components? You can go and run sli970's with a 4690k on a 650, so you need some pretty serious uses to justify 750w rated unit, unless it's one that you just plan to keep for like 8 years. If that's the case, why get an 80+ bronze unit (i didn't check other quality stuff) with a 3 year warranty, instead of a cheaper, more efficient, probably higher quality unit with a 5 year warranty? There are even 8-10 year warranty good quality PSU's out there AFAIK, if you're not buying for your power consumption now (..like 200w with oc'd cpu) but for years into the future
I think that's one of the major problems I'm having in choosing a motherboard -- there's like a thousand variants. I must confess I'm at a loss for how to go about choosing one. 8+ USB ports between the two standards, some basic video output should the need for troubleshooting arise, 4 memory slots, space to fit everything on comfortably. Maybe Z87 instead of Z97 to save a little bit? I'm not looking for anything remarkable out of the motherboard components, just lots of places to plug things in. My USB hub has 6 things connected to it and I'd like some space left over for flash drives, etc. so that's a big one for me. Might have to get an expansion card for that?
It looks like a USB PCIe add-in card is like $15-20 so if I go that route, all I really need is HDMI out, basic sound, a NIC, and something to support the RAM I want to use. If that's the case, something like ASUS-Z87-PRO is considerably cheaper.
I recognized the mistake of forgetting the aftermarket CPU cooler after I posted but I remember reading in the reviews that the stock one was hit or miss and it was highly recommended there as well. I'll be sure to include it in the final list. Thanks for the reminder =]
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United Kingdom20322 Posts
If you need a ton of USB ports you can probably use a USB hub (edit: You already have one, and it's full? My board has like 10x USB's, so with a hub that had 6 on it, that'd be 15 slots. I currently use two - one for mouse and one for webcam)
All of the other stuff that you listed there are just standard on z97 AFAIK. You need a z97 to support a 4690k out of the box, and it's not worth buying a 4670k any more because the 4690k is binned more strictly and has a few significant advantages for overclocking (more capacitors for IVR, better thermal interface die-ihs)
you do kinda need aftermarket cooler for OCing, for lower OC something like a 212+ is fine, for higher then ~"true spirit 140 power" tier is nice
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Hello, I'm trying to put together a new computer and I'm looking for some help/suggestions.
What is your budget?
$800-$1200 CAD
What is your monitor's native resolution?
1080p
What games do you intend to play on this computer? What settings?
WoW/SC2 Ultra
What do you intend to use the computer for besides gaming?
Video/Audio encoding, compiling, several VMs, probably a bit of streaming
Do you intend to overclock?
no, but if I get a better deal for the cost then it's fine. Cost is a larger concern.
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, don't need an HDD either as I got one recently.
If you have any requirements or brand preferences, please specify.
Nvidia GPU
What country will you be buying your parts in?
Canada
If you have any retailer preferences, please specify.
I can do in store pickup with NCIX, but if I get free shipping or the cost including shipping is better then anywhere's fine.
Currently I'm considering something like:
MB: ASUS H81M-K $69.50
PSU: Corsair CX430 $49.98
CPU: i7 4770 $338.99 (Pricematched with newegg.ca)
SSD: Crucial MX100 128GB $85.99
HDD: Already have one I can use
Case: Cooler Master HAF 912 $59.99
RAM: G.Skill 16GB 1600 (2x8GB) $159.99
GPU: Gigabyte GTX 760 1150Mhz 2GB $229.99
Total: $994.43 (Without tax/shipping though shipping's free)
Noise isn't really an issue and I currently don't plan on OC'ing so I skipped a HSF, am I being too stingy?
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Alright, heres my finalised build:
CPU: Intel i5 4690
GPU: Gigabyte R9 270OC
Mobo: ASRock H97M Pro4
RAM: Gskill Sniper F3-12800CL9D 8GBSR
HDD: Seagate Barracude 3.5"
Case: Coolermaster K380 ATX Mid
PSU: Antec HCG 520
Monitor: Viewsonic IPS 21.5"
Wireless Adapter: TP-link TLWN881ND
Optical Drive: Samsung SATA 22x DVDRW
OS: Windows 8.1 Pro
Total: $1107 AUD
Any issues stand out? Will order tomorrow most likely.
Thanks for all your help in this thread! Really excited to get this completed and get back to blink allin-ing Terrans on the ladder #Dreampool.
Edit: Will a 750ti be a better choice than the r9 270 for Starcraft 2 performance alone?
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United Kingdom20322 Posts
Yes.
![[image loading]](http://tpucdn.com/reviews/MSI/GeForce_GTX_760_TF_Gaming/images/sc2_1920_1080.gif)
Starcraft 2 is among the games suffering from directx + gpu driver performance lacking in some CPU bound situations, particularly for radeon gpu's and i have verified that with controlled benchmarks against half a dozen different systems
The stronger Nvidia graphics there are pulling ahead of the others because the FPS probably goes to like 200+ in their benchmark when all of the units are dead and it's on max settings - a 750ti should always give satisfactory FPS on great settings in SC2, unless you're getting bad performance while being CPU limited (which will happen at times with lots of units)
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United Kingdom20322 Posts
On December 16 2014 13:56 Errol wrote:Hello, I'm trying to put together a new computer and I'm looking for some help/suggestions. What is your budget?$800-$1200 CAD What is your monitor's native resolution?1080p What games do you intend to play on this computer? What settings?WoW/SC2 Ultra What do you intend to use the computer for besides gaming?Video/Audio encoding, compiling, several VMs, probably a bit of streaming Do you intend to overclock?no, but if I get a better deal for the cost then it's fine. Cost is a larger concern. 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, don't need an HDD either as I got one recently. If you have any requirements or brand preferences, please specify.Nvidia GPU What country will you be buying your parts in?Canada If you have any retailer preferences, please specify.I can do in store pickup with NCIX, but if I get free shipping or the cost including shipping is better then anywhere's fine. Currently I'm considering something like: MB: ASUS H81M-K $69.50 PSU: Corsair CX430 $49.98 CPU: i7 4770 $338.99 (Pricematched with newegg.ca) SSD: Crucial MX100 128GB $85.99 HDD: Already have one I can use Case: Cooler Master HAF 912 $59.99 RAM: G.Skill 16GB 1600 (2x8GB) $159.99 GPU: Gigabyte GTX 760 1150Mhz 2GB $229.99 Total: $994.43 (Without tax/shipping though shipping's free) Noise isn't really an issue and I currently don't plan on OC'ing so I skipped a HSF, am I being too stingy?
Sounds like you might be happier with an i5 and a 750ti, because those games are not challenging for the GPU on 1080p (though for WoW i like to turn shadows off, they kill GPU limited and CPU limited FPS)
adding hyperthreading and going to 760 would be better, but the GPU wouldn't be noticed much in those games and it's ~$120 extra on the CPU for what is probably a 20% performance gain for your video encoding/vm's
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On December 16 2014 17:16 Cyro wrote:Yes. Starcraft 2 is among the games suffering from directx + gpu driver performance lacking in some CPU bound situations, particularly for radeon gpu's and i have verified that with controlled benchmarks against half a dozen different systems The stronger Nvidia graphics there are pulling ahead of the others because the FPS probably goes to like 200+ in their benchmark when all of the units are dead and it's on max settings - a 750ti should always give satisfactory FPS on great settings in SC2, unless you're getting bad performance while being CPU limited (which will happen at times with lots of units)
Thanks, will go with the 750ti then. Saves money too which is great!
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On December 16 2014 17:24 Cyro wrote:
Sounds like you might be happier with an i5 and a 750ti, because those games are not challenging for the GPU on 1080p (though for WoW i like to turn shadows off, they kill GPU limited and CPU limited FPS)
adding hyperthreading and going to 760 would be better, but the GPU wouldn't be noticed much in those games and it's ~$120 extra on the CPU for what is probably a 20% performance gain for your video encoding/vm's
Do you think an i7 and a 750ti or even lower would work?
The games are really secondary and I plan on working the CPU a fair bit.
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United Kingdom20322 Posts
On December 16 2014 22:44 Errol wrote:Show nested quote +On December 16 2014 17:24 Cyro wrote:
Sounds like you might be happier with an i5 and a 750ti, because those games are not challenging for the GPU on 1080p (though for WoW i like to turn shadows off, they kill GPU limited and CPU limited FPS)
adding hyperthreading and going to 760 would be better, but the GPU wouldn't be noticed much in those games and it's ~$120 extra on the CPU for what is probably a 20% performance gain for your video encoding/vm's Do you think an i7 and a 750ti or even lower would work? The games are really secondary and I plan on working the CPU a fair bit.
Yea. If you care that much about CPU performance though, OC is good. At least, as important as i5 vs i7 (but maybe a bit more, depending on your loads, because HT only benefits certain loads while OC is much more broad of an increase)
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Would it be worth it to get a new heatsink and OC my Phenom II 955 while I wait till next year to get a new mobo + CPU? Last time I remember OCing it runs pretty hot with the stock heatsink. Or will the performance increase not really be worth it/noticeable? Pretty much just using my comp for League of Legends (1920x1080) and netflix, browsing, etc. Graphcis card is a GTX 460 1gb
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United Kingdom20322 Posts
On December 16 2014 23:47 decafchicken wrote:
Would it be worth it to get a new heatsink and OC my Phenom II 955 while I wait till next year to get a new mobo + CPU? Last time I remember OCing it runs pretty hot with the stock heatsink. Or will the performance increase not really be worth it/noticeable? Pretty much just using my comp for League of Legends (1920x1080) and netflix, browsing, etc. Graphcis card is a GTX 460 1gb
What's limited by your CPU and not running as well as you want it to?
How much better do you realistically want it to run?
From that post it seems like everything is fine for you and there is no clear goal (if you want to learn or have fun etc, that's a goal too, just say so :D)
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So I'm looking at the memory I chose (the GSKILL Sniper 16GB kit) and its making me worried about how tall it is and possible interference with Coolermaster Hyper 212 Plus. One video mentioned that there wasn't much clearance available between the fan and the RAM. Is there any way I can find out if it will end up being troublesome or should I look for memory without hardware sticking off the top of it?
Oh for fuck's sake, do you want to see what I have to deal with? I just cleaned all the dust (what little there was) from the fan in this laptop and I've done a few youtube video reviews and this is the result:
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/uVgnp6A.png)
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United Kingdom20322 Posts
I think it should be fine, that's not the shortest RAM available but it's not one of the ones with huge amounts of plastic etc sticking off the top for no reason. Can't really say for sure, but if somebody said "not much clearance" then doesn't that mean that it fits?
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On December 18 2014 01:38 Cyro wrote:
I think it should be fine, that's not the shortest RAM available but it's not one of the ones with huge amounts of plastic etc sticking off the top for no reason. Can't really say for sure, but if somebody said "not much clearance" then doesn't that mean that it fits?
They might have been referring to memory with crazy stuff like the teeth patterns that stick out a few cm from the basic memory stick, and from the pictures it doesn't seem like this will interfere. (Stuff like this memory with teeth)
Also I have been looking as PSUs based on your recommendation that I won't need 750W and the price difference when selecting only from modular PSUs is like ~20$ differential unless I go refurbished. I'm not really inclined to go refurb, though.
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United Kingdom20322 Posts
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On December 17 2014 01:58 Cyro wrote:Show nested quote +On December 16 2014 23:47 decafchicken wrote:
Would it be worth it to get a new heatsink and OC my Phenom II 955 while I wait till next year to get a new mobo + CPU? Last time I remember OCing it runs pretty hot with the stock heatsink. Or will the performance increase not really be worth it/noticeable? Pretty much just using my comp for League of Legends (1920x1080) and netflix, browsing, etc. Graphcis card is a GTX 460 1gb What's limited by your CPU and not running as well as you want it to? How much better do you realistically want it to run? From that post it seems like everything is fine for you and there is no clear goal (if you want to learn or have fun etc, that's a goal too, just say so :D)
Haha I guess nothing really, everything's running much better since I added an SSD and went 4gb->12gb RAM. Would be cool to do it for fun though 
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United Kingdom20322 Posts
On December 18 2014 02:06 ObviousOne wrote:Mostly want modular because otherwise I'll end up with a travesty that looks like my last machine: http://i.imgur.com/CdXh6KM.jpg
I don't think that's even possible in a half decent (not even expensive) case; that one has a top mounted PSU, no notable cable management features at all and barely fits the motherboard in
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On December 18 2014 02:10 Cyro wrote:I don't think that's even possible in a half decent (not even expensive) case; that one has a top mounted PSU, no notable cable management features at all and barely fits the motherboard in
But did you have a laugh? The small fan that is mostly hidden by IDE cables died and the replacement I bought didn't fit so it just gently sits on top of the chip cooling with minimal contact. The whole thing is permanently on its side, heh. Given the HAF912 I think you're right. From the video I saw I can just tuck away extra cables behind the mounting plate until they're needed, so I'll check the non-modular ones out instead!
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EPT
