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.
The question isn't how much is my budget, the question is what exactly would be the best price/performance for my needs and not everything maxed out (ie. I can afford a 980ti and all that stuff but I don't need it) What is your monitor's native resolution?
1080p 144hz What games do you intend to play on this computer? What settings?
StarCraft 2, Unreal Tournament 4, CSGo, Overwatch. Might end up doing all low settings like pros do but would like the ability to max the game out. 144fps is the goal. What do you intend to use the computer for besides gaming?
School work, maybe coding. Do you intend to overclock? Yes
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?
I have a monitor and peripherals already. If you have any requirements or brand preferences, please specify. I don't want cheap brands. For graphics card recommendation all I ask is why you recommended that specific model/brand. PSU I'd prefer a 80+ Gold of either EVGA or Seasonic
What country will you be buying your parts in?
USA If you have any retailer preferences, please specify. Whatever has the best prices
Not sure if UT4 or Overwatch is most graphically demanding on that list (it looks like ut4, but that engine has surprisingly low GPU load) and i'm not 100% sure how well it runs either.
Sc2 won't run anywhere near flawlessly even with the best cpu's available, so you might want a 6600k + overclock; that should be less beneficial for the other games though.
Now I found this one on ebay(NOTE: the site is in german. I don´t know if its displayed in english for you guys but maybe someone can still help) http://www.ebay.de/itm/PC-Rechner-Computer-PC-GAMER-2x3-40Ghz-6800Ghz-4000MB-RAM-Nr33-/152021677755?hash=item236532b6bb:g:XKUAAOSw9N1ViWnC I know this is not the best but maybe someone can tell me if this is any good or if it´s total junk. They have tons of these there: http://www.ebay.de/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_sacat=0&LH_ItemCondition=3000&_nkw=gamer pc&_sop=15 While it´s not very good it would be ok since I don´t plan on doing anything big with it and only would play Hearthstone and some really old games from steam and maybe Diablo 2 and the usual surfing/browsing. The only thing is that it has no OS so how much would I have to pay for Win 7? Also maybe I can put my current graphics card and maybe my HDD in it. I just want to make sure Im not buying complete crap and that the Rig above can serve me until im fluent in money again. Im really scared that my current PC would.. explode or something like that. If anything was unclear please tell me. I appreciate any help I can get since Im desperate for a better machine.
But since my current PC is slowly dying ( CPU heat easily reaches up to 100°C when I watch streams/youtube)
That's quite easily fixable
I know I already asked in the Simple Question/Simple Answers Thread how I can solve this problem and someone already responded. Here is the post including my answer: + Show Spoiler +
On March 24 2016 04:12 Simberto wrote: 2) Saving important data is always a good idea. Not saving important data is always dangerous. Especially on older machines. That being said, if the problem is the CPU getting too hot, that shouldn't really influence the data saved on your hard drive. The most likely thing that could happen is your CPU breaking.
1) There are ways of dealing with this. If your CPU gets that hot, there is probably something wrong with the cooling.
Step one: Open the PC case, and clean all of the vents from dust. There is probably shitloads on there. (Don't use water for this unless you hate your PC, just some dry cloth). Screw off all the vents, and remove any additional dust you find. Vacuum the inside of the PC to remove even more dust. If you are lucky, this has solved your problem. If not
Step two: Remove CPU cooler (There should be some sort of metal box on top of the CPU (Heatsink), remove that too), add a bit of heat paste on the side of the heat sink that is directed at the CPU. Don't overdo it.
Step three: My knowledge ends here, start replacing things until the problem goes away, or buy a new PC. You could also try to screw around in the BIOS, lowering the maximal load your CPU may take. No idea if that helps.
Thanks for the quick response. I´ll be honest here. I´m scared to do all the things you mentioned. I´m a complete noob when it comes to the inside of a PC. Especially the part with the Heat paste. I know what is what but last time I did something like that it didn´t worked out so well. The IT guy that ususally takes care of my PC and build it even got a little bit angry and something like :" Why do people with no knowledge actually do this?" Also my Rig is just too old to upgrade/exchange parts and I can´t buy a new one now.
I´m really really scared of doing it myself. If I break anything I have no substitute. I think it still would be the best if you guys could tell me if the ebay Rig is any good. I also don´t want to anger the IT guy more if I do it myself since he is the only guy I know at the moment that does PC stuff. Unless you guys have some other tips/helpful info for me.
On March 24 2016 03:17 Tresher wrote: Hi guys I posted here a few months ago asking for a cheap build. This helped me but I couldn´t buy one yet due to money problems. But since my current PC is slowly dying ( CPU heat easily reaches up to 100°C when I watch streams/youtube) and because of these financial problems Im forced to buy a used one from ebay. This is my current setup: http://www.teamliquid.net/forum/tech-support/426532-computer-build-upgrade-and-buying-resource-thread?page=492#9831
Now I found this one on ebay(NOTE: the site is in german. I don´t know if its displayed in english for you guys but maybe someone can still help) http://www.ebay.de/itm/PC-Rechner-Computer-PC-GAMER-2x3-40Ghz-6800Ghz-4000MB-RAM-Nr33-/152021677755?hash=item236532b6bb:g:XKUAAOSw9N1ViWnC I know this is not the best but maybe someone can tell me if this is any good or if it´s total junk. They have tons of these there: http://www.ebay.de/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_sacat=0&LH_ItemCondition=3000&_nkw=gamer pc&_sop=15 While it´s not very good it would be ok since I don´t plan on doing anything big with it and only would play Hearthstone and some really old games from steam and maybe Diablo 2 and the usual surfing/browsing. The only thing is that it has no OS so how much would I have to pay for Win 7? Also maybe I can put my current graphics card and maybe my HDD in it. I just want to make sure Im not buying complete crap and that the Rig above can serve me until im fluent in money again. Im really scared that my current PC would.. explode or something like that. If anything was unclear please tell me. I appreciate any help I can get since Im desperate for a better machine.
I checked the ebay offer. This is from Fujitsu Siemens Celsius Workstation series, but I don't know the exact model. Some googling shows it's probably M440/460 or W360. If it is the M440/460, the graphics card will not be able to play Hearthstone (specs here). I did not find any info on the GPU of the W360, but I doubt it will have enough power.
regarding the heating problem, just removing the case and cleaning out the dust as described without removing any components will hardly do any damage, but might already solve the heating problem.
On March 24 2016 03:17 Tresher wrote: Hi guys I posted here a few months ago asking for a cheap build. This helped me but I couldn´t buy one yet due to money problems. But since my current PC is slowly dying ( CPU heat easily reaches up to 100°C when I watch streams/youtube) and because of these financial problems Im forced to buy a used one from ebay. This is my current setup: http://www.teamliquid.net/forum/tech-support/426532-computer-build-upgrade-and-buying-resource-thread?page=492#9831
Now I found this one on ebay(NOTE: the site is in german. I don´t know if its displayed in english for you guys but maybe someone can still help) http://www.ebay.de/itm/PC-Rechner-Computer-PC-GAMER-2x3-40Ghz-6800Ghz-4000MB-RAM-Nr33-/152021677755?hash=item236532b6bb:g:XKUAAOSw9N1ViWnC I know this is not the best but maybe someone can tell me if this is any good or if it´s total junk. They have tons of these there: http://www.ebay.de/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_sacat=0&LH_ItemCondition=3000&_nkw=gamer pc&_sop=15 While it´s not very good it would be ok since I don´t plan on doing anything big with it and only would play Hearthstone and some really old games from steam and maybe Diablo 2 and the usual surfing/browsing. The only thing is that it has no OS so how much would I have to pay for Win 7? Also maybe I can put my current graphics card and maybe my HDD in it. I just want to make sure Im not buying complete crap and that the Rig above can serve me until im fluent in money again. Im really scared that my current PC would.. explode or something like that. If anything was unclear please tell me. I appreciate any help I can get since Im desperate for a better machine.
I checked the ebay offer. This is from Fujitsu Siemens Celsius Workstation series, but I don't know the exact model. Some googling shows it's probably M440/460 or W360. If it is the M440/460, the graphics card will not be able to play Hearthstone (specs here). I did not find any info on the GPU of the W360, but I doubt it will have enough power.
regarding the heating problem, just removing the case and cleaning out the dust as described without removing any components will hardly do any damage, but might already solve the heating problem.
Thanks man appreciate your help. Good to know that its a bad machine. Didn´t even think about checking the specs for Hearthstone myself. About the Heating: I don´t think it´s dust/dirt I always kept it quite clean, I was mostly worried about the removing parts stuff. I think it must be the paste or the fan itself. The thing is if new cooling would be worthwhile for my old machine. I might ask the IT guy that build my PC. I might come back here if I have any new info but still would need help.
Other guys correct me if I'm wrong but, since psu and cases are pretty standard, isn't it possible to reuse your psu, case, monitor and hdd(if it's SATA) ? We can cut them and build something like:
On March 26 2016 05:50 mantequilla wrote: @Tresher
Other guys correct me if I'm wrong but, since psu and cases are pretty standard, isn't it possible to reuse your psu, case, monitor and hdd(if it's SATA) ? We can cut them and build something like:
Something like this is way better than your old machine. Should be able to play even the new games with sub 1080p resolutions and low graphics.
This would be great if this would work. I asked this a while ago too but Cyro said that everything is really old and there is nothing to reuse. But im sure it would still work. But you guys would have to help since Iam a noob when it comes to PC parts compability. Would really like to hear some opinions on this.
Sc2 won't run anywhere near flawlessly even with the best cpu's available, so you might want a 6600k + overclock; that should be less beneficial for the other games though.
Wait really? There are games taking advantage of hyper threading?
Sc2 won't run anywhere near flawlessly even with the best cpu's available, so you might want a 6600k + overclock; that should be less beneficial for the other games though.
Wait really? There are games taking advantage of hyper threading?
6600k is i5, no hyperthreading there.
A lot of games do benefit from HT now though.
Since this video is 4.6ghz 2500k vs 4.4ghz 3700k, the gains are basically all from Hyperthreading and RAM, two things that way too many people will tell you don't ever matter.
not too surprised about RAM, i figured some time ago that nice fast RAM would be nice. little surprised about hyper threading
though maybe that €100 premium is still better off invested in the GPU, if we're talking about trying to get FPS in AAA titles. could be wrong, but that definitely changed my views on hyperthreading
It usually is. When HT helps, it's often poor performance/$. The loads that HT helps in also tend to scale onto 6+ core CPU's, so they don't have as harsh performance ceilings as some other CPU limited loads and games (like starcraft 2)
The difference between 2133c15 and 3200c16 RAM on Skylake is pretty massive. Another interesting consideration is that a lot of benchmarks showed the broadwell cpu's w/ L4 cache to perform excellently - the workloads that benefit from that L4 cache also tend to benefit from faster RAM. They're scaling from storage that doesn't fit in the L1, L2 and L3 caches - so it's L4+RAM for broadwell, and RAM only for Skylake
It was with the assistance of an earlier version of this thread that I built an awesome gaming PC that has served me faithfully for almost 7 years, so firstly, thanks!!
The GPU that I went with for this build in late 2009/early 2010 was the Geforce Gtx 470.
Lately, I've been playing almost nothing but Dota 2, but recently bought Fallout 4 and was enjoying it despite noticing some performance issues. I probably would have just stuck it out, but yesterday, my computer crashed unexpectedly. Since then, it won't boot normally due to a BSOD BCcode 116/1033 error which occurs right after the Windows loading screen.
I was a little suspicious because earlier that day a new version of my GPU drivers updated. I got rid of all of my Nvidia drivers (as well as the GeForce "experience"). With them uninstalled the system boots with no problems. Just to be extra sure that this was a GPU driver issue, I checked the temps (completely fine, within normal range) cleaned the fans and the case (which I had just cleaned about a month ago, so I doubt this is a problem), ran full virus/malware scan and checked my registry and HDs for errors.
Then I tried a clean install with this latest version of the drivers (just the graphic driver without any of the 3d support etc.) Same error on startup and failed to boot. I rinsed and repeated (deleted folders and ran the uninstaller) trying about 5 different previous versions. None of the drivers work for me now.
I figure 6 and half years is a pretty decent run, and I'm willing to plop down ~150-200 bucks for a new GPU.
I'm interested to hear peoples' thoughts on the value that you get with a Gtx 950 vs. 960 in their 2gb vs. 4gb forms.
My CPU is an Intel Core i-7 870 Quad Core @ 2.93GHz. I have a Corsair TX 650w PSU, so I shouldn't have any power issues, I hope.
I was in the same situation and decided to get gtx960 over 950 for a bit more power, because I'm skipping first gen pascal and a 4gb 960 in theory should last me longer than 950. Then again, i only play dota2, diablo3 and recently stardew valley, all of which should be handled by a 950 just fine, but I still bought 960 because price difference isnt much here, so 960 presents more value to me, especially when i might pick up some newer AAA games, where 960 should fare better.
Also, since you play Fallout 4, may want to consider these benchmarks . 960 clearly has advantage, so you may want to get that if your budget is limited to $200.
950 and 960 are pretty close (~20% gap iirc) and quite similar perf/$, more VRAM doesn't improve performance but it can allow you to turn up more settings like texture resolution without turning the game into a slideshow
Fallout 4 runs badly on anything. It runs a lot less badly on stronger hardware, but it's still one of the worst game engines.
950 is pretty decent (one of the lower end cards that makes sense to buy) but it's not a huge upgrade from a 470. It would run a bit better but the biggest difference being some new features and dramatically lower power consumption (thus heat and noise output too).
Part of me wants to suggest going for a 970 if you want a solid upgrade and to run for many years as a 970 is somewhere close to twice as fast as a 950 but the rest of your system probably wouldn't do great for another 5 years. The stuff that i'm thinking about in particular would be CPU/motherboard/RAM and storage (do you have an SSD? You can get an 850 EVO 250GB for $88 - http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00OAJ412U/?tag=pcpapi-20 )
Yeah, I thought about going for the 970, but honestly, this build is getting a little long in the tooth and I'm currently playing Dota 2 almost exclusively so I'm not sure I'd notice it much at the moment.
I do have an SSD, but it's tiny (64Gb) and I probably paid more than 2x what the 250GB is going for. It's probably not a bad idea to snag one of those Samsungs, but I would need to buy a Windows 10 license (my Windows 7 enterprise version isn't upgradeable, I don't think) as well.
I could pick this up today, 5 minutes from my house. The 960 (second link) is $20 more and I'd have to drive about an hour (I'd like to get back up and running today, ideally).
I'm thinking about putting up a pc for me and my father. I've only built one pc in the past (the one I'm using at this very minute) but that was several years ago, and since then I haven't followed the latest tech evolutions. He's gonna use his pc for the casual surfing and mostly for photo editing. I would use it for office work (intensive use of google chrome/google docs and online apps). I'll also use it once every forthnight to play a game of dota (or any other game) with the kids, but definitely not for hardcore gaming. I'll Dad would like something that is rather powerful, that has a classic look (he's retired, he's not interested in LEDs and maps of Las Vegas), and that will last him a few years - and I've got about the same criterias. I've spent the whole morning reading reviews, best bang for your bucks websites and so on. The items I've selected so far (I haven't had time to check all of them into details as this takes a lot of time, which I unfortunately don't have right now) appear hereunder.
What is your budget? I'd like to keep it lower than 850 euros (screen not included) What is your monitor's native resolution? The 2 models that caught my eye are the following, but it's open to discussion Dell S2715H Ecran PC IPS 27" (1920x1080, 16, Garantie 3 ans) EUR 318,47 or Philips Brilliance BDM4065UC Ecran PC LED 40" 3840x2160 3ms HDMI/VGA EUR 659,95 L What games do you intend to play on this computer? What settings? It's not gonna be a gaming pc, kids might use it once in a while but low gfx settings are totally ok What do you intend to use the computer for besides gaming? Office work, intense browsing, photo editing Do you intend to overclock? no Do you intend to do SLI / Crossfire? no Do you need an operating system? it'll have to be windows Do you need a monitor or any other peripherals and is this part of your budget? 850-900 euros is my budget for the pc (an all-in solution, including windows, keyboard, mouse, all pc parts, wifi antenna/card) without the screen. If you have any requirements or brand preferences, please specify. not really What country will you be buying your parts in? Having my own company, I can probably recover part of the VAT, so ideally Belgium in order to make paperwork easier If you have any retailer preferences, please specify. Amazon.fr as I've filled in their VAT form already....but again, i'm open to suggestions.
So, if you're familiar with building your own gear, could you let me know : a)if the items hereunder are a good choice and if not, what would you pick instead, and why ? b)if I order those items, do I get everything I need to build up the pc myself, or do I need to add fans, cables, thermal paste, or other gear that wouldn't be included in the oem packages hereunder ? c) at the bottom of the list are two screens, I don't know which one to pick yet (it seems to be the trickiest part, as they are so many models out there)....they seem to be decent for photography work. Dad might opt to go for more expensive/pro model but that will be his choice (and his money ;d), those are the two models that caught my eye this morning because of their reviews, look, and size. Also, I have no experience with 40 inch display : do they require a better processor or graphic card than those I've selected to run "smoothly" ? d)all prices quoted hereunder are from amazon.fr (I'm located in Belgium so they usually have very decent deals, shipping included). Total price without the screen is about 875 euros, vat included. If you got ideas/tips on how to save money in order to get gear that would be of the same quality, don't hesitate to let me know. Example : I know I could probably try and find a windows 7 edition out there, and benefit for the free upgrade to windows 10, in order to save 50 euros on the whole package...I'll dig into that very soon. But for the rest of the gear, it'll be based on your tips and tricks. Also, I'm building the pc mostly in order to save some money (bang for bucks wise) and because it's fun, but I know it's gonna take me some time to do it from scratch as I'm not experienced, and since I don't have tons of time (and since time is money nowadays ;d) if there's a "customize your pc"website where I can get similar gear at a rather similar price, and that would build it and ship it to for a low price, don't hesitate to let me know (I've only googled and checked a couple of them ; maybe I was unlucky but it seemed to be a much more expensive solution...) Thanks for your comments! Ka
Intel Skylake Processeur Core i5-6500 3.6 GHz 6Mo Cache Socket 1151 EUR 206,99 MSI B150M Bazooka Carte mère Intel Micro ATX Socket 1151 EUR 78,18 Crucial CL11 Mémoire RAM DDR3 8 Go (2 x 4 Go) PC3-12800 800 MHz EUR 40,99 Seagate ST1000DM003 Barracuda Disque dur interne 3,5" SATA III 7200 tours/min 1 To EUR 45,90 Disque SSD interne Sata III SanDisk PLUS 120 Go 2,5 pouces avec une vitesse de lecture allant jusqu'à 520 Mo/s (SDSSDA-120G-G25) EUR 44,05 Corsair CP-9020097-EU VS Series VS550 ATX/EPS 80 PLUS 550W Alimentation PC EU EUR 48,98 Samsung SH-224FB/BEBE Graveur DVD interne SATA EUR 15,99 Gigabyte N750TOC-2GI Carte Graphique Nvidia GeForce GTX 750 Ti 1085 MHz 2048 Mo PCI-Express EUR 119,00 Corsair CC-9011034-WLED Carbide Series Air 540 Fenêtré ATX EUR 141,27 (this one is expensive but it seemed to have a good mix of classical look, and a lot of wiggle room, which would make it easy to work with for a beginner like me) Microsoft Basic Optical Mouse EUR 9,86 Microsoft Wired Keyboard 600 AZERTY EUR 12,80 Tp-Link TL-WN881ND Adaptateur PCI Express sans fil N 300 Mbps EUR 13,00 Windows 10 - about 100 euros
Then I hesitate between 2 * sceens Dell S2715H Ecran PC IPS 27" (1920x1080, 16, Garantie 3 ans) EUR 318,47 or Philips Brilliance BDM4065UC Ecran PC LED 40" 3840x2160 3ms HDMI/VGA EUR 659,95 L
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, Garantie 3 ans) EUR 318,47 
