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Computer Build, Upgrade & Buying Resource Thread - Page 562

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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.
Taelshin
Profile Joined September 2010
Canada420 Posts
Last Edited: 2015-11-14 00:24:14
November 13 2015 20:37 GMT
#11221
http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/p/jXdFjX switched the ram to the V, thats not a big deal. As for the case, id love to use that one you linked, way cheaper, cut costs a bit, but when I plug it into pcparkpicker it says that it does not have front usb 3.0 ports, not sure if that just means it has them in the back, or if its a bigger deal then that. I also like the look of the case you chose better, as long as the case is 4/6 size it looks like it'll fit everything, thanks for checking.



EDIT : its all done, its ordered, thanks again everyone for helping cant wait to tell you all how it goes!
"We didnt listen"
bluegarfield
Profile Joined December 2010
Singapore1128 Posts
November 14 2015 05:03 GMT
#11222
went to sleep XD.

Sorry forgot to check the front panel USB3.0. basically it's gonna be annoying if you use new external hdd that has usb 3.0 and don't want to plug it in front due to slower speed. but that can be solved by buying something like this and plug into one of those empty 5.25" cd drive bay
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811999236&cm_re=Front_Panel_USB_3-_-11-999-236-_-Product
ELqQQT_T
HaRuHi
Profile Blog Joined November 2010
1220 Posts
Last Edited: 2015-11-14 16:19:51
November 14 2015 16:18 GMT
#11223
I am looking for a notebook for my mum. I just thought to go with a really powerful processor like

Intel Core i7-6700HQ (Skylake).

She usually just surfs the web and watches videos, does some excel etc. I was under the impression that the 530 intel integrated chip would suffice graphically for this, also for longer battery life/heat/noise etc, I thought a notebook without dedicated graphic card would be adventagous, however I can't for the life of me find a vendor offering one without. Do we have to take one with a dedicated card when buying a new notebook? Is it because of windows 10's interface or something like that? Or are 4k videos going to be too demaning on the intern intel chip a few years down the line? I can spend up to 1000 euros, but it should last ~7years .

edit: Oh yeah, need Windows 10 pre installed, don't want to update from 8.1.
Panzemek
Profile Joined November 2015
13 Posts
November 14 2015 18:35 GMT
#11224
Ok! It's been a while (long enough to forget my password; farewell, Melancholia -_-) I've got another friend in need of a new computer, and I come once more for advice!

-Budget: $800 for everything
-Location: US (Michigan)
-Build date: Soon. I expect to wait for the Thanksgiving deals, but if that's no longer worthwhile then it can be now.
-Need: Monitor, speakers, and full computer build. Do not need an OS, mouse, keyboard.
-Usage: Streaming while drawing is the biggest need (using Manga Studio 5, maybe Photoshop CS6), gaming on "...decent settings XD". Bonuses would be record herself playing games, potentially doing some animation.
-Overclocking: I could convince her to do so if it's clearly the best option, but would prefer not to. She'd rather play things safe since this is her first build.

I'm a little out of the loop on builds nowadays, so I'm looking forward to see where this lands at!
bluegarfield
Profile Joined December 2010
Singapore1128 Posts
November 15 2015 06:25 GMT
#11225
On November 15 2015 03:35 Panzemek wrote:
Ok! It's been a while (long enough to forget my password; farewell, Melancholia -_-) I've got another friend in need of a new computer, and I come once more for advice!

-Budget: $800 for everything
-Location: US (Michigan)
-Build date: Soon. I expect to wait for the Thanksgiving deals, but if that's no longer worthwhile then it can be now.
-Need: Monitor, speakers, and full computer build. Do not need an OS, mouse, keyboard.
-Usage: Streaming while drawing is the biggest need (using Manga Studio 5, maybe Photoshop CS6), gaming on "...decent settings XD". Bonuses would be record herself playing games, potentially doing some animation.
-Overclocking: I could convince her to do so if it's clearly the best option, but would prefer not to. She'd rather play things safe since this is her first build.

I'm a little out of the loop on builds nowadays, so I'm looking forward to see where this lands at!


Alright, here is my attempt at it, I'm not veteran so take this as reference and do your own research on top of it.

Something to note, I am not familiar with purchasing things in the US, so I just use whatever price pcpartpicker gave me.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant
+ Show Spoiler +
CPU: Intel Xeon E3-1231 V3 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($232.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: ASRock H97M Anniversary Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($67.89 @ OutletPC)
Memory: G.Skill Sniper Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($69.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Crucial BX100 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($79.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Video Card: MSI Radeon R9 380 2GB Video Card ($168.98 @ Newegg)
Case: Cooler Master N300 ATX Mid Tower Case ($39.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: SeaSonic S12II 520W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($53.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Monitor: Asus VH238H 23.0" Monitor ($106.99 @ NCIX US)
Speakers: Logitech S-150 1.2W 2ch Speakers ($9.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Total: $830.80
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-11-15 01:15 EST-0500


Some adjustments that can be made are:
+ Show Spoiler +
- dropping to 8GB ram (2x4GB), that's going to save around $30
- Storage is probably not enough. Popular storage setup is 250GB SSD + 1TB HDD. but since this is a bit over budget, I guess going with SSD first for some speed + save the trouble of having to transfer/reinstall OS later. You can always add another HDD later to solve storage problem, like +$50. Alternatively, do without SSD altogether and switch to this will also save some money, if speed is not a concern.
- GPU: I think R9 380 is really well priced right now, but depending on what game your friend may play, can also drop down to GTX950 to cut cost more
- PSU: for some reason, pcpartpicker didnt list price for some common choice like SuperFlower Golden Green 450W, Rosewill Capstone 450W, etc. But this one is still Seasonic, and still good quality
- Monitor: just randomly picked something that doesn't have bad review. Sorry about this ^^
- Speaker: I mean, this produces some sound. Should work.
ELqQQT_T
IceHism
Profile Joined February 2010
United States1903 Posts
Last Edited: 2015-11-15 17:48:21
November 15 2015 17:45 GMT
#11226
On November 15 2015 01:18 HaRuHi wrote:
I am looking for a notebook for my mum. I just thought to go with a really powerful processor like

Intel Core i7-6700HQ (Skylake).

She usually just surfs the web and watches videos, does some excel etc. I was under the impression that the 530 intel integrated chip would suffice graphically for this, also for longer battery life/heat/noise etc, I thought a notebook without dedicated graphic card would be adventagous, however I can't for the life of me find a vendor offering one without. Do we have to take one with a dedicated card when buying a new notebook? Is it because of windows 10's interface or something like that? Or are 4k videos going to be too demaning on the intern intel chip a few years down the line? I can spend up to 1000 euros, but it should last ~7years .

edit: Oh yeah, need Windows 10 pre installed, don't want to update from 8.1.


The HQ is a 48/47 watt processor, there is no way that will get even decent battery life(you'll get maybe 3-5 hours). I'd suggest a windows ultrabook like the dell xps 13, surface pro, HP spectre x360 or even a refurb macbook pro. You don't really need a super powerful processor for videos and excel. Also, HQ laptops overheat rather easily or they are really big and heavy. Generally, they are for mobile workstations or gamers
Onegu
Profile Blog Joined May 2010
United States9699 Posts
November 15 2015 17:50 GMT
#11227
Ok buying today. Thanks alot for all of your help. One last question because I think this is how I am going to go.

I am going to buy a prebuilt computer.

Link to PC here.

And then add a SAMSUNG 850 EVO 2.5" 250GB SATA III 3-D Vertical Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) MZ-75E250B/AM to it.

Is this better than the builds I posted earlier. here and here

Out of these 3 which would you get? Also a reminder the 2 builds I just linked are combo packs and you have to get what they put in the combo. You cannot pick and choose.the pieces you want and dont want.

Thanks or]w
Try TL Mafia!!!
fusefuse
Profile Blog Joined February 2011
Estonia4644 Posts
November 15 2015 18:49 GMT
#11228
Def not the cyberpowerpc one, it has a locked i5 and a 970 for basically the same price you can get the one with the unlocked(overclocakble should you so desire) i7-6700k with also a 970
the later one gives you a great base to build on with a top of the line fresh cpu so you can swap in an even beefier gfx card down the line
Liquipedia@jkursk
Cyro
Profile Blog Joined June 2011
United Kingdom20341 Posts
Last Edited: 2015-11-15 19:10:49
November 15 2015 19:09 GMT
#11229
The HQ is a 48/47 watt processor, there is no way that will get even decent battery life(you'll get maybe 3-5 hours)


The battery life won't be significantly worse than any other Skylake CPU during low loads. When watching videos, web browsing, even in the Starcraft menu my 6700k is sat at 800mhz consuming around 5-10 watts.

Also, HQ laptops overheat rather easily or they are really big and heavy. Generally, they are for mobile workstations or gamers


HQ is the "Standard" and totally appropriate for a ~15" laptop of normal weight. The exception to that is the U and other suffixes for ultra-low-power which usually comes with thin, light laptops with small batteries and weak cooling.
"oh my god my overclock... I got a single WHEA error on the 23rd hour, 9 minutes" -Belial88
IceHism
Profile Joined February 2010
United States1903 Posts
Last Edited: 2015-11-15 19:33:23
November 15 2015 19:30 GMT
#11230
On November 16 2015 04:09 Cyro wrote:
Show nested quote +
The HQ is a 48/47 watt processor, there is no way that will get even decent battery life(you'll get maybe 3-5 hours)


The battery life won't be significantly worse than any other Skylake CPU during low loads. When watching videos, web browsing, even in the Starcraft menu my 6700k is sat at 800mhz consuming around 5-10 watts.

Show nested quote +
Also, HQ laptops overheat rather easily or they are really big and heavy. Generally, they are for mobile workstations or gamers


HQ is the "Standard" and totally appropriate for a ~15" laptop of normal weight. The exception to that is the U and other suffixes for ultra-low-power which usually comes with thin, light laptops with small batteries and weak cooling.


I've never seen an HQ laptop last as long as an ultrabook or macbook when both are doing similar lightweight activities. never.

and most people prefer lightness in their laptop rather than processing power. Unless you're shelling out for the super high end MSIs or other gaming laptops, you'll likely also be stuck with a shitty fusion or 5400 rpm hd in your laptop as well (granted you could replace it yourselves so that's a plus i guess.)
fusefuse
Profile Blog Joined February 2011
Estonia4644 Posts
November 15 2015 19:47 GMT
#11231
err, there's plenty of laptops & specs and most importantly usage cases & market between the two extremes you mentioned, its not exactly that black and white that its either a 5kg desktop replacement "gaming" monstrosity or 9-hours-or-go-home-ultrabooks

Liquipedia@jkursk
Panzemek
Profile Joined November 2015
13 Posts
November 15 2015 19:49 GMT
#11232
On November 15 2015 15:25 bluegarfield wrote:
Show nested quote +
On November 15 2015 03:35 Panzemek wrote:
Ok! It's been a while (long enough to forget my password; farewell, Melancholia -_-) I've got another friend in need of a new computer, and I come once more for advice!

-Budget: $800 for everything
-Location: US (Michigan)
-Build date: Soon. I expect to wait for the Thanksgiving deals, but if that's no longer worthwhile then it can be now.
-Need: Monitor, speakers, and full computer build. Do not need an OS, mouse, keyboard.
-Usage: Streaming while drawing is the biggest need (using Manga Studio 5, maybe Photoshop CS6), gaming on "...decent settings XD". Bonuses would be record herself playing games, potentially doing some animation.
-Overclocking: I could convince her to do so if it's clearly the best option, but would prefer not to. She'd rather play things safe since this is her first build.

I'm a little out of the loop on builds nowadays, so I'm looking forward to see where this lands at!


Alright, here is my attempt at it, I'm not veteran so take this as reference and do your own research on top of it.

Something to note, I am not familiar with purchasing things in the US, so I just use whatever price pcpartpicker gave me.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant
+ Show Spoiler +
CPU: Intel Xeon E3-1231 V3 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($232.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: ASRock H97M Anniversary Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($67.89 @ OutletPC)
Memory: G.Skill Sniper Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($69.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Crucial BX100 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($79.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Video Card: MSI Radeon R9 380 2GB Video Card ($168.98 @ Newegg)
Case: Cooler Master N300 ATX Mid Tower Case ($39.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: SeaSonic S12II 520W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($53.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Monitor: Asus VH238H 23.0" Monitor ($106.99 @ NCIX US)
Speakers: Logitech S-150 1.2W 2ch Speakers ($9.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Total: $830.80
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-11-15 01:15 EST-0500


Some adjustments that can be made are:
+ Show Spoiler +
- dropping to 8GB ram (2x4GB), that's going to save around $30
- Storage is probably not enough. Popular storage setup is 250GB SSD + 1TB HDD. but since this is a bit over budget, I guess going with SSD first for some speed + save the trouble of having to transfer/reinstall OS later. You can always add another HDD later to solve storage problem, like +$50. Alternatively, do without SSD altogether and switch to this will also save some money, if speed is not a concern.
- GPU: I think R9 380 is really well priced right now, but depending on what game your friend may play, can also drop down to GTX950 to cut cost more
- PSU: for some reason, pcpartpicker didnt list price for some common choice like SuperFlower Golden Green 450W, Rosewill Capstone 450W, etc. But this one is still Seasonic, and still good quality
- Monitor: just randomly picked something that doesn't have bad review. Sorry about this ^^
- Speaker: I mean, this produces some sound. Should work.

I expect she'll be playing some new games, Dragon Age and the like, but won't be trying to mod the hell out of Fallout 4 or anything. Future proofing the GPU is better.

Delaying a larger hard drive is probably just fine for now, and an SSD is going to be a big enough improvement over what she's accustomed to that I prefer it over size.

That monitor looks good to my (entirely untrained) eye. Certainly way better than she would have got if left to her own devices

Did Rosewill move on to a new line of supplies? I'm seeing these on Newegg (also, any reason this one would be bad?): http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA07236V1500&cm_re=Rosewill-_-17-182-044-_-Product

And this is a lot more nebulous, but do you have any sense of what the discount is likely to look like if we wait for the holiday deals, versus buying now?
Cubbieblue66
Profile Joined June 2011
95 Posts
Last Edited: 2015-11-15 22:22:55
November 15 2015 22:21 GMT
#11233
Hello everybody! In July 2011 you all helped me put together my first build. It's served me very well over the years. But over the last year or so I've noticed that I can't run ultra graphics in games anymore, even with the GPU overclocked. And now that Fallout is out, I can't even run it at medium settings without my framerate jumping all over the place. So you all know what that means...

UPGRADE TIME!

Here's what I'm working with right now:

What is your current build?
CPU: Intel Core i7-2600K Sandy Bridge 3.4GHz (3.8GHz Turbo Boost) 4 x 256KB L2 Cache 8MB L3 Cache LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor BX80623I72600K
GPU: EVGA 01G-P3-1561-AR GeForce GTX 560 Ti FPB (Fermi) 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card
RAM: G.SKILL Value Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Desktop Memory Model F3-10666CL9D-8GBNT
Motherboard: ASRock P67 PRO3 (B3) LGA 1155 Intel P67 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
PSU: XFX Core Edition PRO450W (P1-450S-XXB9) 450W ATX12V 2.2 & ESP12V 2.91 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC Power Supply
SSD: Samsung 840 EVO 500GB

And a couple old mechanical drives for backups and whatnot.

CPU and GPU are overclocked.


What is your monitor's native resolution?
1920x1080 --- Looking at possibly upgrading the monitor as well though. Even if I don't do that this year, I'm planning on ending up with a 4k. If anybody has a monitor recommendation, I'd love to hear it.

Why do you want to upgrade? What do you want to achieve with the upgrade?
I'd like to be able to run Fallout 4 on Ultra settings with the potential to install some larger mods once they start coming out.

What is your budget?
If possible I'd like to keep it under $500. But this is a four year and a half year old build (with the exception of the newer SSD), so I'll be realistic and say I could go up to $1,000 if absolutely necessary.

What country will you be buying your parts in?
USA

If you have any brand or retailer preferences, please specify.
None
IceHism
Profile Joined February 2010
United States1903 Posts
Last Edited: 2015-11-15 22:43:12
November 15 2015 22:32 GMT
#11234
On November 16 2015 04:47 fusefuse wrote:
err, there's plenty of laptops & specs and most importantly usage cases & market between the two extremes you mentioned, its not exactly that black and white that its either a 5kg desktop replacement "gaming" monstrosity or 9-hours-or-go-home-ultrabooks



I'm not seeing that market at all
Here's a search for the I7-6700HQ on newegg
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Description=6700hq&Submit=ENE

Majority of the laptops are mobile workstations or gaming laptops. ranging with an average 4.5-5.5 pounds which is quite heavy. A lot of them lack SSDs and many come with dedicated graphics cards.

I go search up normal laptops, and many of them use the U series of processors while being 1 pound heavier than most ultrabooks but also without SSDs.

It's not that i think 15' laptops have to be bad. If i could choose the parts, i think it would be good. It's just that i don't think the compromises to do everything just ok are worth it and the selection is just terrible for that category especially for windows. A lightweight laptop with long battery and a U processor (15w or 28w) does lightweight tasks perfectly while also utilizing the latest technology and sleek designs. A 5 pound is perfect for gaming or professional work. I don't see any worthwhile compromise in between.

On November 16 2015 07:21 Cubbieblue66 wrote:
Hello everybody! In July 2011 you all helped me put together my first build. It's served me very well over the years. But over the last year or so I've noticed that I can't run ultra graphics in games anymore, even with the GPU overclocked. And now that Fallout is out, I can't even run it at medium settings without my framerate jumping all over the place. So you all know what that means...

UPGRADE TIME!

Here's what I'm working with right now:

What is your current build?
CPU: Intel Core i7-2600K Sandy Bridge 3.4GHz (3.8GHz Turbo Boost) 4 x 256KB L2 Cache 8MB L3 Cache LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor BX80623I72600K
GPU: EVGA 01G-P3-1561-AR GeForce GTX 560 Ti FPB (Fermi) 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card
RAM: G.SKILL Value Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Desktop Memory Model F3-10666CL9D-8GBNT
Motherboard: ASRock P67 PRO3 (B3) LGA 1155 Intel P67 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
PSU: XFX Core Edition PRO450W (P1-450S-XXB9) 450W ATX12V 2.2 & ESP12V 2.91 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC Power Supply
SSD: Samsung 840 EVO 500GB

And a couple old mechanical drives for backups and whatnot.

CPU and GPU are overclocked.


What is your monitor's native resolution?
1920x1080 --- Looking at possibly upgrading the monitor as well though. Even if I don't do that this year, I'm planning on ending up with a 4k. If anybody has a monitor recommendation, I'd love to hear it.

Why do you want to upgrade? What do you want to achieve with the upgrade?
I'd like to be able to run Fallout 4 on Ultra settings with the potential to install some larger mods once they start coming out.

What is your budget?
If possible I'd like to keep it under $500. But this is a four year and a half year old build (with the exception of the newer SSD), so I'll be realistic and say I could go up to $1,000 if absolutely necessary.

What country will you be buying your parts in?
USA

If you have any brand or retailer preferences, please specify.
None


Graphics card upgrade is a must. If you want to go all out, you can get the GTX 980 TI which would serve you well for a really long time. If you absolutely need more storage, then another 500 GB ssd may suit you. You should also consider getting 8gb more of ram imo.
Cyro
Profile Blog Joined June 2011
United Kingdom20341 Posts
November 15 2015 23:20 GMT
#11235
And now that Fallout is out, I can't even run it at medium settings without my framerate jumping all over the place


Unfortunately the game runs pretty badly regardless of hardware. It's quite CPU heavy too
"oh my god my overclock... I got a single WHEA error on the 23rd hour, 9 minutes" -Belial88
killa_robot
Profile Joined May 2010
Canada1884 Posts
November 16 2015 02:02 GMT
#11236
I thought anything after 8GB of RAM was pretty overkill for a personal computer?
bluegarfield
Profile Joined December 2010
Singapore1128 Posts
November 16 2015 02:12 GMT
#11237
On November 16 2015 04:49 Panzemek wrote:
Show nested quote +
On November 15 2015 15:25 bluegarfield wrote:
On November 15 2015 03:35 Panzemek wrote:
Ok! It's been a while (long enough to forget my password; farewell, Melancholia -_-) I've got another friend in need of a new computer, and I come once more for advice!

-Budget: $800 for everything
-Location: US (Michigan)
-Build date: Soon. I expect to wait for the Thanksgiving deals, but if that's no longer worthwhile then it can be now.
-Need: Monitor, speakers, and full computer build. Do not need an OS, mouse, keyboard.
-Usage: Streaming while drawing is the biggest need (using Manga Studio 5, maybe Photoshop CS6), gaming on "...decent settings XD". Bonuses would be record herself playing games, potentially doing some animation.
-Overclocking: I could convince her to do so if it's clearly the best option, but would prefer not to. She'd rather play things safe since this is her first build.

I'm a little out of the loop on builds nowadays, so I'm looking forward to see where this lands at!


Alright, here is my attempt at it, I'm not veteran so take this as reference and do your own research on top of it.

Something to note, I am not familiar with purchasing things in the US, so I just use whatever price pcpartpicker gave me.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant
+ Show Spoiler +
CPU: Intel Xeon E3-1231 V3 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($232.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: ASRock H97M Anniversary Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($67.89 @ OutletPC)
Memory: G.Skill Sniper Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($69.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Crucial BX100 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($79.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Video Card: MSI Radeon R9 380 2GB Video Card ($168.98 @ Newegg)
Case: Cooler Master N300 ATX Mid Tower Case ($39.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: SeaSonic S12II 520W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($53.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Monitor: Asus VH238H 23.0" Monitor ($106.99 @ NCIX US)
Speakers: Logitech S-150 1.2W 2ch Speakers ($9.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Total: $830.80
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-11-15 01:15 EST-0500


Some adjustments that can be made are:
+ Show Spoiler +
- dropping to 8GB ram (2x4GB), that's going to save around $30
- Storage is probably not enough. Popular storage setup is 250GB SSD + 1TB HDD. but since this is a bit over budget, I guess going with SSD first for some speed + save the trouble of having to transfer/reinstall OS later. You can always add another HDD later to solve storage problem, like +$50. Alternatively, do without SSD altogether and switch to this will also save some money, if speed is not a concern.
- GPU: I think R9 380 is really well priced right now, but depending on what game your friend may play, can also drop down to GTX950 to cut cost more
- PSU: for some reason, pcpartpicker didnt list price for some common choice like SuperFlower Golden Green 450W, Rosewill Capstone 450W, etc. But this one is still Seasonic, and still good quality
- Monitor: just randomly picked something that doesn't have bad review. Sorry about this ^^
- Speaker: I mean, this produces some sound. Should work.

I expect she'll be playing some new games, Dragon Age and the like, but won't be trying to mod the hell out of Fallout 4 or anything. Future proofing the GPU is better.

Delaying a larger hard drive is probably just fine for now, and an SSD is going to be a big enough improvement over what she's accustomed to that I prefer it over size.

That monitor looks good to my (entirely untrained) eye. Certainly way better than she would have got if left to her own devices

Did Rosewill move on to a new line of supplies? I'm seeing these on Newegg (also, any reason this one would be bad?): http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA07236V1500&cm_re=Rosewill-_-17-182-044-_-Product

And this is a lot more nebulous, but do you have any sense of what the discount is likely to look like if we wait for the holiday deals, versus buying now?

R9 380 can play Fallout 4 smoothly at 1089p medium setting. and it should handle other games decently as well. if you can increase the budget, the reasonable future proofing solution is going for gtx970/r9 390 instead.

For monitor, i am as clueless as you. head over here for better advice: http://www.teamliquid.net/forum/tech-support/308280-teamliquid-monitor-thread

PSU, i just go by psu tier list on google. there is not enough info on the one you link, so not sure if good or bad. for rosewill, their good and budget option has been capstone series i believe. otherwise i just stick to more reliable brand like seasonic or super flower.

I have not been there or purchased anything from the US, so no idea how discount works there
ELqQQT_T
Amui
Profile Blog Joined August 2010
Canada10567 Posts
Last Edited: 2015-11-16 13:10:27
November 16 2015 12:58 GMT
#11238
On November 16 2015 11:02 killa_robot wrote:
I thought anything after 8GB of RAM was pretty overkill for a personal computer?

Depends on your line of work and hobbies, but generally yes. I upgraded about a week ago to 2x8GB, but not everybody plans on loading 5-6GB of CAD so I guess I'm an outlier in that regard.

+ Show Spoiler +
On November 16 2015 07:21 Cubbieblue66 wrote:
Hello everybody! In July 2011 you all helped me put together my first build. It's served me very well over the years. But over the last year or so I've noticed that I can't run ultra graphics in games anymore, even with the GPU overclocked. And now that Fallout is out, I can't even run it at medium settings without my framerate jumping all over the place. So you all know what that means...

UPGRADE TIME!

Here's what I'm working with right now:

What is your current build?
CPU: Intel Core i7-2600K Sandy Bridge 3.4GHz (3.8GHz Turbo Boost) 4 x 256KB L2 Cache 8MB L3 Cache LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor BX80623I72600K
GPU: EVGA 01G-P3-1561-AR GeForce GTX 560 Ti FPB (Fermi) 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card
RAM: G.SKILL Value Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Desktop Memory Model F3-10666CL9D-8GBNT
Motherboard: ASRock P67 PRO3 (B3) LGA 1155 Intel P67 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
PSU: XFX Core Edition PRO450W (P1-450S-XXB9) 450W ATX12V 2.2 & ESP12V 2.91 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC Power Supply
SSD: Samsung 840 EVO 500GB

And a couple old mechanical drives for backups and whatnot.

CPU and GPU are overclocked.


What is your monitor's native resolution?
1920x1080 --- Looking at possibly upgrading the monitor as well though. Even if I don't do that this year, I'm planning on ending up with a 4k. If anybody has a monitor recommendation, I'd love to hear it.

Why do you want to upgrade? What do you want to achieve with the upgrade?
I'd like to be able to run Fallout 4 on Ultra settings with the potential to install some larger mods once they start coming out.

What is your budget?
If possible I'd like to keep it under $500. But this is a four year and a half year old build (with the exception of the newer SSD), so I'll be realistic and say I could go up to $1,000 if absolutely necessary.

What country will you be buying your parts in?
USA

If you have any brand or retailer preferences, please specify.
None


Under $500 I would definitely just up it to a 970 and call it a day. 2600k can hold up for a couple more years provided it is overclocked. 980 definitely isn't cost competitive with the 970, but it's also possible if you want to shell out a bit more.

Upgrading to a skylake CPU will be rather expensive as it has to be a mobo+CPU+RAM upgrade, and it'd be hard to do that and get a good GPU for under 1k, although it can be done.

I definitely wouldn't drop the GPU below a 970 for the sake of upgrading the CPU though.
Porouscloud - NA LoL
Cyro
Profile Blog Joined June 2011
United Kingdom20341 Posts
November 16 2015 18:17 GMT
#11239
On November 16 2015 11:02 killa_robot wrote:
I thought anything after 8GB of RAM was pretty overkill for a personal computer?


As always it depends on what you're doing with it and is rising steadily over time
"oh my god my overclock... I got a single WHEA error on the 23rd hour, 9 minutes" -Belial88
Ethelis
Profile Blog Joined September 2008
United States2400 Posts
Last Edited: 2015-11-17 06:56:20
November 17 2015 06:51 GMT
#11240
Hi guys, i'm planning to have a new PC by the end of the month but with all these deals going around i'm not sure what to do. In general is it more cost-efficient to look for deals throughout the month or just wait for Black Friday weekend to get the parts?

Also, if there's 3 PCs in my room (it gets pretty hot in there during the summer) should I be concerned about extra cooling for my next rig? I just thought of that recently so I don't have any temperature numbers to throw out there.
Disabled gamer - Diamond 3 (LoL) D+ Rank scrublord on BW. Bisu doesnt need DTs, He uses probes. just ask Flash.
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