Computer Build, Upgrade & Buying Resource Thread - Page 465

On March 11 2015 03:03 Cyro wrote:
the v300 is a pretty bad SSD. It wasn't amazing before, but they shipped one version to reviewers and then crippled it with a hardware change under the hood and didn't announce it. There are much better SSD's out there~

On March 13 2015 12:36 Cyro wrote:
The PC mate isn't good for OC. Those ~130 boards are around the minimum of what you should be buying

On March 13 2015 12:55 Cyro wrote:
Not really but that $130 with a kunzu v2 pro thingy mouse is nice. That's not a bad mouse and it has some resale value.

The GIGABYTE z97x-gaming 5 (a very different board with a very similar name) is only $140 so that's a good choice - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128709&cm_re=z97x-gaming_5-_-13-128-709-_-Product - but that msi board, although VRM is worse it's still sufficient unless you're being anal about what parts can do what, the pricing and the mouse with it is good.

Most of the time i'd just say lol whatever free crap (i got some rubber dome keyboard with my g1 980 which had no value to me although it's a pretty good rubber dome board) but a kinzu v2 pro is actually a mouse that some self respecting and aim-aware gamer might want to use, AFAIK. I'm not sure of exact specifics of it but it should be alright if not super solid, and while the $60 "value" is quite adventurous, it's worth a fair price when new.

Hey. I'm wanting someone to critique my potential build.

On March 14 2015 09:30 Myrmidon wrote:
Holy cow, 200g of thermal paste. You know the aftermarket coolers come with some already, and you don't even use more than say a grain-of-rice sized amount per application, right?

Anyway, I disagree with the allocation here primarily in terms of the amount spent inside the box vs. outside the box. Different people value in-game performance and everything else done on the computer with different weightings, especially because some spent a much greater percentage of their time gaming as opposed to other things, but I would say that most people probably spend too much on the box itself. For example, you are always looking at the computer monitor while using the computer, but the only time the difference between a GTX 970 and a GTX 960 (again, just an example) is felt is while playing certain newest AAA titles with details cranked.

Also, you are not specific about which games you care about, what these "multiple programs" might be, and so on, but for most people I would guess that downgrading the GTX 970 and the Core i7 would be prudent, on top of moving to 8 GB of RAM. RAM can always be upgraded later. You may even want to consider forgetting about CPU overclocking to save a further $100 or so on the model of Core i5, motherboard, and skipping the aftermarket cooler.

This is relatively unimportant, but the power supply there is relying on that $20 rebate and is actually kind of a mediocre build and quality. The wattage is a lot higher than you need for that, but the quality may be under some $50-60 models normally.

If you are running a 1080p 60 Hz monitor, I think an R9 290 at about $250 is about what to get if you're a a heavy gamer with an eye for graphics detail. The higher-end cards are more for hardware enthusiasts and gamers running 120+ Hz or 2560x1440 or some higher resolution. However, Nvidia has Nvenc, which you can use for encoding for streaming if you don't mind the quality downgrade and don't want to bog down the CPU.

Some people care a lot about having an SSD. Others don't. Some would pay for a more expensive mouse and keyboard while others won't care. Some would get much more expensive speakers while others don't care. Keep in mind also that surround sound setups don't work very well without the right speaker positioning and room, so make sure there are actually places to put the surrounds (at the correct heights too). Also note that when budget constrained, 2 channels is going to be better for music and may be better in most games where you're not wanting to precisely localize sounds.

You probably don't want the Acer H236HLbid for gaming because of the reverse ghosting from the pixel overdrive. That kills the whole deal. If you're looking for a 60 Hz IPS monitor, there are better choices. If you weren't, what are you even going for? Some would suggest getting a 120+ Hz monitor instead for better gaming fluidity—which would actually allow a GTX 970 to stretch its legs—but others don't care as much about that. It depends some on your expectations and the games played.

And what happened to the computer chair? Desk?`


All in all, the build is largely sensible in general, but I can't tell if it's appropriate without further information.