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"I need a New PC!" 2012 Thread. Ivy, SSDs, and reading the OP. [Part 2]
- Thread starter Hazaro
- Start date
- Status
I think the 9400 is much worse for gaming than even an Athlon
Dunno much about the Phenom II vs OCd Athlon II as you, but the X4 975 seems to be better than a similarly priced i3 for multimedia.
Edit: How could I forget! MSI AMD mobos from that time are known for mosfets failing with a high TDP/OCd CPU. Some say their mobo died just by running a stock 1055t.
Big thread about it here and yours is actually on the list. I don't have any experience with this, I was just led to this page when I read about mATX AMD mobos.
I'll check out my overclocking options this weekend. I tooled around with them briefly when I got the new motherboard, but I reset everything after a day or two.
I think you posted the wrong link, thats the 640 and 970. The differences there are almost entirely attributed to the higher frequency.
http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/289?vs=362
The i3 and 970 trade back and forth.
http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/289?vs=362
The i3 and 970 trade back and forth.
I think the 9400 is much worse for gaming than even an Athlon
Edit: How could I forget! MSI AMD mobos from that time are known for mosfets failing with a high TDP/OCd CPU. Some say their mobo died just by running a stock 1055t.
Big thread about it here and yours is actually on the list. I don't have any experience with this, I was just led to this page when I read about mATX AMD mobos.
Ooh. Looks like that answers that question. I think I'll buy the new RAM, SSD, and graphics card for now and then do a new mobo and CPU in the near future then.
Sorry. The 970 does however seem much better for multithreaded tasks, but I'm kinda worried about OC with a mobo with a four pin connector, 4+1 power phase when MSI was known for bad mosfets in their AMD boards from that time.
Edit: Stupid me, the X4 980 has a 125W TDP. Wrote something like it was 95W like the Athlon X4.
Super clean! Bit of advice though.
Tape the SSD to the back of your mobo tray, remove the top HDD cage, and put the other one on the bottom next to the PSU. It'll look fantastic and your temps will most definitely drop, especially on the GPUs.
Is it worth the price difference to go with a GTX 660 Ti over the standard GTX 660 model? I've been considering the Zotac GTX 660 and the Zotac AMP! GTX 660 Ti, and I could push the boat out and buy the AMP!, but I've no idea if the performance difference will be worth the extra cash.
The 7950 is ~$300.
Infinite Justice
Member
this should say $400. update total to $1323
Actually the 7950 is around 300 or so that can stay. What Haz needs to fix is the prices for the others in that list so the 670 should have the (+$100) and the 680 have the (+$200)
One of the most informative posts I've ever read regarding PC components. I realize why some fanboys get flamed for saying "Radeon kills the Nvidia just check the benchmarks LOL". Different cards, different processors and different software development that caters to different games. Makes a lot of sense now.
Go back a page and bread the discussion towards the bottom.
Good catch!
this should say $400. update total to $1323
While true, I think he meant to put the 7970 in there.
@fantomex Thanks!
XiaNaphryz
LATIN, MATRIPEDICABUS, DO YOU SPEAK IT
BLACK AMERICAN PSYCHO
Junior Member
I want to build a competent gaming pc but in a console like case. Is this even possible? I don't want to worry about overheating or anything like that. Every gpu comes with a hdmi that will send video/audio to my tv out of the box right ?
Jzero
Member
Not every card but most newer cards should.
i ordered an Asus GeForce GTX 670 2GB (GTX670-DC2-2GD5) yesterday. It cost me $304.00CAD ($320 after tax) and im having a little bit of buyers remorse. Not sure if i should return it and hold out for a better deal.
Watch out for the Small Form Factor guide which should be updated in the OP today.
That's an insane deal.
Dark Octave
Banned
So I wired it up, plugged it in and pressed the button and nothing besides the little green light on the board itself. They tell me it's either the motherboard or the power supply. My wife pointed out a slight electrical burn smell.
I'm past the 15 day return policy at Fry's so if it's the motherboard and they don't take it, I hope Asus will replace it.
I'm past the 15 day return policy at Fry's so if it's the motherboard and they don't take it, I hope Asus will replace it.
The electrical burn smell might just be the powersupply warming up. New ones often have that kind of smell.
Other troubleshooting steps - power plugged into your video card? Do you have other components to test it with? Try doing a barebones boot first - just motherboard, and video card. No hard drives or anything like that.
Other troubleshooting steps - power plugged into your video card? Do you have other components to test it with? Try doing a barebones boot first - just motherboard, and video card. No hard drives or anything like that.
I've never had any luck with PCs so I'm considering a gaming laptop or a pre-configured desktop.
Does this Vesta 6350 OC MKII look any good? Anything stand out as being bad or a rip-off?
http://pc.ncix.com/ncixpc_new/ncixpc.cfm?uuid=61ED4679-DBDB-4D50-9FED0367F66B1E08-4506059
thanks
Does this Vesta 6350 OC MKII look any good? Anything stand out as being bad or a rip-off?
http://pc.ncix.com/ncixpc_new/ncixpc.cfm?uuid=61ED4679-DBDB-4D50-9FED0367F66B1E08-4506059
thanks
Bought a new PC almost straight from advice in the OP. Thank you so much for this thread, normally the research that goes into what parts to buy would be a lot more painful
FRACTAL DESIGN MIDITOWER DEFINE R4 USB3 BLACK
CORSAIR AX 850W PROFESSIONAL SERIES MODULAR PSU
ASUS P8Z77-V PRO Z77 S-1155 ATX IVY
INTEL CORE I7 3770K 3.5GHZ 8MB S-1155 IVY
NOCTUA NH-D14 S-1155/1156/1366/AM3
CORSAIR 16GB DDR3 VENGEANCE LP PC3-12800 1600MHZ CL9 (4X4GB)
ASUS GEFORCE GTX 660 TI OC 2GB PCI-E DVI/HDMI/DP +BORDERLANDS 2
SAMSUNG 830 SERIES 256GB SSD SATA/600 MLC DESKTOP KIT
WESTERN DIGITAL BLACK 3.5" 1TB 7200RPM SATA/600 64MB
SAMSUNG GALAXY NOTE 16GB SSD 10.1" WI-FI + 3G WHITE
SAMSUNG DVD±R/RW/RAM DL 22X SATA BULK BLACK
MICROSOFT WINDOWS 7 HOME PREM SP1 64-BIT ENG DVD#OEM
CANON PIXMA MX895 MFP A4
LOGITECH G110 GAMING KEYBOARD
LOGITECH WIRELESS MOUSE M705 NANO USB
MICROSOFT WIRELESS XBOX360 CONTROLLER FOR PC
CORSAIR VENGEANCE 2000 WIRELESS 7.1 GAMING HEADSET
LG IPS277L 27" WIDE TFT LED BLACK/METALLIC
Can't wait to put this thing together in a couple of days.
FRACTAL DESIGN MIDITOWER DEFINE R4 USB3 BLACK
CORSAIR AX 850W PROFESSIONAL SERIES MODULAR PSU
ASUS P8Z77-V PRO Z77 S-1155 ATX IVY
INTEL CORE I7 3770K 3.5GHZ 8MB S-1155 IVY
NOCTUA NH-D14 S-1155/1156/1366/AM3
CORSAIR 16GB DDR3 VENGEANCE LP PC3-12800 1600MHZ CL9 (4X4GB)
ASUS GEFORCE GTX 660 TI OC 2GB PCI-E DVI/HDMI/DP +BORDERLANDS 2
SAMSUNG 830 SERIES 256GB SSD SATA/600 MLC DESKTOP KIT
WESTERN DIGITAL BLACK 3.5" 1TB 7200RPM SATA/600 64MB
SAMSUNG GALAXY NOTE 16GB SSD 10.1" WI-FI + 3G WHITE
SAMSUNG DVD±R/RW/RAM DL 22X SATA BULK BLACK
MICROSOFT WINDOWS 7 HOME PREM SP1 64-BIT ENG DVD#OEM
CANON PIXMA MX895 MFP A4
LOGITECH G110 GAMING KEYBOARD
LOGITECH WIRELESS MOUSE M705 NANO USB
MICROSOFT WIRELESS XBOX360 CONTROLLER FOR PC
CORSAIR VENGEANCE 2000 WIRELESS 7.1 GAMING HEADSET
LG IPS277L 27" WIDE TFT LED BLACK/METALLIC
Can't wait to put this thing together in a couple of days.
Dark Octave
Banned
I actually don't have a video card yet. My wife gave me an old 500 watt power supply she has never used so I'll try that tonight and do as you suggest. Thanks.
Solid PC with good parts for a higher price than need be. Read the OP and then self-build the same or better for hundreds less.
·feist·;42645416 said:
Yeah...self building never really worked out well for me (well, self chosen parts and someone else assembling it). I want something I know is going to work well out of the box with minimum messing around. I'll pay a bit more for that piece of mind.
I wonder how that machine compares with a Sager/Clevo laptop (9170) with a 680GTX? The flexibility and simplicity of a laptop is appealing.
This is what I'm waiting for!
Pickles the Firecat
Banned
Damn it. I ordered an H100 from Newegg and the fan speed controller doesn't work. Looks like it'll be a full 7 days for the RMA order to run through. How's that for bad luck?
Just buy some new/better fans. The stock ones aren't great, especially at low RPM.
I got the Sennheiser PC 350s and a new Asus Xonar DG.
Anyone know the best settings for the PC 350 in the Xonar sound board? I set the HP Advance Setting to >64ohms, but is there more I should do to take full advantage of these puppies?
EDIT: I hate setting up new sound cards. For whatever reason Windows, or Asus, turned of the Xonar's mic jack and set it to "look" at the front jack ... which isn't even plugged into the Xonar.
Anyone know the best settings for the PC 350 in the Xonar sound board? I set the HP Advance Setting to >64ohms, but is there more I should do to take full advantage of these puppies?
EDIT: I hate setting up new sound cards. For whatever reason Windows, or Asus, turned of the Xonar's mic jack and set it to "look" at the front jack ... which isn't even plugged into the Xonar.
Is that drilling a hole into the headphones? If so I think I'll pass.
Is the Xonar or the headset causing VOIP communication to sound metallic?
EDIT: Definitely the headset. All voices sound metallic to me (best way to describe it).
Was just playing Boarderlands and the sound quality is terrible.
Any suggestion settings wise in EQ? Seemed like sounds were either way too loud or way too low.
AwesomeSauce
MagsMoonshine
Go to the mixer setting in the Xonar Audio Center. Click on record and where it says MIC, there should be a wrench icon next to it. Click that and set the input source to Microphone from Front Mic.
Small Form Factor Build Guide
The decision process that sets this type of computer building apart from standard builds in the OP is that a lot of component choices are based on the selected case. So rather than finding a case to fit the parts you've picked out, the case will determine parts compatibility. To further compound the issue, each motherboard may only work with a select number of heatsinks without causing interference or mounting issues.
What I am going to focus on here are the cases that have the ability to hold and power fully fledged gaming rigs that just happen to be smaller than their ATX counterparts.Cases that are aimed at extremely low power consumption, limited expansion, and minimal cooling have been omitted.
There are five cases that stand out as obvious choices for these builds right now. The CoolerMaster Elite 120, Silverstone FT03 Mini, BitFenix Prodigy, Lian Li PC-Q08R, and the Silverstone SG07/08. Each of these present different features and drawbacks.
CM Elite 120
The Coolermaster Elite 120 is an inexpensive case that is perfectly suited for a budget SFF build. There is enough room for most current videocards, but the airflow is anemic enough to where you don't want to cram in power hungry parts like a 7950 and an overclocked 2500K. One way of overcoming this airflow issue is by replacing the front fan with a fan that has a high pressure rating, like the Scythe Gentle Typhoon or Corsair SP. However, if high end parts are what you are looking to install, you will want to look elsewhere. Here's the proposed build for the Elite 120.
Silverstone FT03 Mini
While gorgeous, the FT03 probably has the most stringent requirements in terms of parts selected. For starters, if you want to overclock then a closed loop 120mm water cooler like the Corsair H40/60 is mandatory. There just isn’t enough room anywhere else in the case for a decent aftermarket cooler, and Silverstone actually designed the case with these units in mind.
The second is that since the parts are oriented 90 degrees, you have to be very careful when selecting a videocard. Cards with heatpipe designs do not perform as intended, so you will want to go with a reference video card. There are some non-reference coolers that will perform adequately, but you need to check specifically with the card in mind before purchasing. With all of that hot air dumping into the system, I’d still advise against it. Considering that AMD reference cards are still fairly loud towards the high end, if you want a computer that performs quietly, you will want to go with a 660Ti, 670, 680, 7850, or 7870.
The third consideration is that since airflow is fairly poor, you will want to replace the bottom fan with a pair of high pressure/CFM fans. Swiftech Helix, Scythe Gentle Typhoon AP-15, Noctua NF-F12, Noiseblocker Eloop 1300/1900 RPM are what you want to be looking at.
The final issue is that you are limited to SFX PSU’s only. Luckily, Silverstone makes two great ones, but you’re going to be limited to 450W. This is plenty for even a 680 and a 3770K. You will want to avoid NVIDIA’s high end Fermi cards (GTX 4xx, GTX 5xx) though.
BitFenix Prodigy
The BitFenix Prodigy, while not overly expensive at $80, has the honors of being the most capable in terms of powering high end components. The drawback to this capability is size. It's quite a bit larger than any of the cases listed here due to the large handles. Really, the only compatibility issues you will need to deal with are whether or not a specific heatsink interferes with the motherboard layout.
Because of size, allowance of all different sorts of coolers, this case is the most capable of performing silently. You can even watercool your entire system with a custom loop, as it is capable of holding both a 240mm radiator in the top and a 200mm radiator in the front.
Lian Li PC-Q08
The Q08 is another case that is best served by a closed loop 120mm cooler installed on the top exhaust. Other than that, you’re pretty much open on part selections.
Silverstone SG-07/08
These cases are pretty much identical other than the front fascia. Though the price is high, they both come with decent 600W PSU’s, so they’re not overly expensive in the scheme of things. The only limitation you will face with these is having a low profile heatsink. You will want to use the CoolerMaster Gemini II or Noctua NH-C12.
As always, please notify me if you notice any errors or if you have some useful information. Thanks!
-zfz.Michalius
The decision process that sets this type of computer building apart from standard builds in the OP is that a lot of component choices are based on the selected case. So rather than finding a case to fit the parts you've picked out, the case will determine parts compatibility. To further compound the issue, each motherboard may only work with a select number of heatsinks without causing interference or mounting issues.
What I am going to focus on here are the cases that have the ability to hold and power fully fledged gaming rigs that just happen to be smaller than their ATX counterparts.Cases that are aimed at extremely low power consumption, limited expansion, and minimal cooling have been omitted.
There are five cases that stand out as obvious choices for these builds right now. The CoolerMaster Elite 120, Silverstone FT03 Mini, BitFenix Prodigy, Lian Li PC-Q08R, and the Silverstone SG07/08. Each of these present different features and drawbacks.
CM Elite 120
The Coolermaster Elite 120 is an inexpensive case that is perfectly suited for a budget SFF build. There is enough room for most current videocards, but the airflow is anemic enough to where you don't want to cram in power hungry parts like a 7950 and an overclocked 2500K. One way of overcoming this airflow issue is by replacing the front fan with a fan that has a high pressure rating, like the Scythe Gentle Typhoon or Corsair SP. However, if high end parts are what you are looking to install, you will want to look elsewhere. Here's the proposed build for the Elite 120.
Silverstone FT03 Mini
While gorgeous, the FT03 probably has the most stringent requirements in terms of parts selected. For starters, if you want to overclock then a closed loop 120mm water cooler like the Corsair H40/60 is mandatory. There just isn’t enough room anywhere else in the case for a decent aftermarket cooler, and Silverstone actually designed the case with these units in mind.
The second is that since the parts are oriented 90 degrees, you have to be very careful when selecting a videocard. Cards with heatpipe designs do not perform as intended, so you will want to go with a reference video card. There are some non-reference coolers that will perform adequately, but you need to check specifically with the card in mind before purchasing. With all of that hot air dumping into the system, I’d still advise against it. Considering that AMD reference cards are still fairly loud towards the high end, if you want a computer that performs quietly, you will want to go with a 660Ti, 670, 680, 7850, or 7870.
The third consideration is that since airflow is fairly poor, you will want to replace the bottom fan with a pair of high pressure/CFM fans. Swiftech Helix, Scythe Gentle Typhoon AP-15, Noctua NF-F12, Noiseblocker Eloop 1300/1900 RPM are what you want to be looking at.
The final issue is that you are limited to SFX PSU’s only. Luckily, Silverstone makes two great ones, but you’re going to be limited to 450W. This is plenty for even a 680 and a 3770K. You will want to avoid NVIDIA’s high end Fermi cards (GTX 4xx, GTX 5xx) though.
BitFenix Prodigy
The BitFenix Prodigy, while not overly expensive at $80, has the honors of being the most capable in terms of powering high end components. The drawback to this capability is size. It's quite a bit larger than any of the cases listed here due to the large handles. Really, the only compatibility issues you will need to deal with are whether or not a specific heatsink interferes with the motherboard layout.
Because of size, allowance of all different sorts of coolers, this case is the most capable of performing silently. You can even watercool your entire system with a custom loop, as it is capable of holding both a 240mm radiator in the top and a 200mm radiator in the front.
Lian Li PC-Q08
The Q08 is another case that is best served by a closed loop 120mm cooler installed on the top exhaust. Other than that, you’re pretty much open on part selections.
Silverstone SG-07/08
These cases are pretty much identical other than the front fascia. Though the price is high, they both come with decent 600W PSU’s, so they’re not overly expensive in the scheme of things. The only limitation you will face with these is having a low profile heatsink. You will want to use the CoolerMaster Gemini II or Noctua NH-C12.
As always, please notify me if you notice any errors or if you have some useful information. Thanks!
-zfz.Michalius
TyrantGuardian
Member
Welcome to the 120Hz club, enjoy your stay! Why not the BenQ, by the way? It has ridiculously low input lag.
Availability, I believe.
TBH, after using both for quite awhile, I think I am going to switch back to my S23A. The colors.
Availability, either this or none regarding 120hz really. Havent bought it yet btw! first thing next week (unless they sell them all I guess)
first TN panel so im worried about the disadvantages, but it shouldnt be too hard to center a 23'
beyond that there's always the dreaded dead pixel test considering the warranty policy of "we wont change it back unless it has at least 3 dead pixels" or so, but if I start worrying about that im never buying a new monitor again, lol.
Garou
Member
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