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Computer Build Thread: Embracing Web 2.0 (Sorta)

AlectharAlecthar Alan ShoreWe're not territorial about that sort of thing, are we?Registered User regular
edited October 2011 in Moe's Stupid Technology Tavern
Due to the lowered maximum character count for posts in the forums, the OP has been stuck as it has been since my last updates regarding Memory and Storage. I have recommendations, information, and other new stuff, along with changes and updates to older stuff that I simply can't include because the new character maximum stops me from editing the posts used in the OP. With that in mind, I've started a blog (I'm taking one for the team on this one, guys, I hope everyone appreciates that) with all the current component guide stuff I've included here so far. In the coming days expect additional entries on video cards, and more cool stuff like that. The current information in the OP will stay as it is, for quick reference, but the most current information will be found on the blog:

PC Building for Penny Arcadians


Welcome to The Computer Build and The Great Penny Arcade Gallery Project Thread!

This thread is for discussing the art and science of building your own computer in particular which parts should be bought. A lot of the information we share would also be useful for picking out or customizing a commercially build computer. Obviously a lot of us are interested in gaming PCs but other uses are also discussed.

Feel free to post your build for comment or just your budget and what you need your computer to be capable of. The friendly people of this thread can set you on the right track or give you options to save money or have a better computer or sometimes both at once.

If we know the answer to some of the following questions it will help us to point you to the right computer for you.
• What is your total budget?
• What has to be included in that budget? Just an upgrade, just the computer itself or a computer with monitor, mouse and keyboard? Do you have parts from your old computer that you can use?
• Is this computer just for gaming and casual computer use or do you have other computationally intensive tasks in mind?
• What resolution to you plan on gaming at? Mostly this should be the native resolution of your monitor.
• Do you feel the need for cutting edge performance in the most demanding games (*cough* Metro 2033) or is good performance in most games and "good enough" performance in the most demanding games? Any particular games or upcoming games you care about?
• Are you biased towards either ATI/NVidia or Intel/AMD?
• How long do you want this computer to last, i.e. do you want to pay extra to try and "future proof" your computer so it won't have to be upgraded or replaced quite as soon?
• How important is being able to upgrade your computer at a later time?

If you need help or instructions on how to build your new computer take a look at this guide from techreport.com or this wiki article.

Why build a computer rather than buy one already put together?
• While general use computers are sold at fairly reasonable prices at Dell or even Best Buy, retailers or manufacturers seem to think that gamers are willing to pay more and they price accordingly. Thus a home built gaming computer can be quite a bit cheaper.
• You have a lot more options for parts if you buy your own rather than buying pre-built. There are hundreds of video cards alone on newegg. This means that you can generally get better quality and/or meet any specific requirements (like a video card with a quieter fan if you are easily bothered by your computer's noise.
• In general it's a lot easier to upgrade a home built computer than a pre-built. All the parts will be standard size and you can be sure that your motherboard and power supply leave room for upgrading later.
• You can learn a bit about how your computer works since it won't just be a black box to you.

The main downside is that if you make your own computer then you are going to have to fix it if something goes wrong. It can be slightly tense after you put your new box together and are ready to press the power button for the first time and it's pretty annoying to have to RMA parts and let your computer sit there while you wait for parts that work.

Where to shop:

These days most people buy most of their parts from newegg because they have a nice combination of selection, prices, customer ratings of the various parts, customer service and easily searched inventory. If you do buy from newegg keep an eye out for free shipping and nice "combo deals" that could save you a few extra bucks. You can often save $20 each off of a HD/OS combo, Motherboard/CPU combo, Case/Powersupply combo, etc. Otherwise good places to look include Zipzoomfly.com, Amazon especially for free shipping, Microcenter if you have one nearby (they often have very nice prices on CPUs it seems), Dell has nice deals on monitors from time to time.

For the UK, people seem to be using:
Ebuyer.co.uk
Large catalogue of components; essentially a UK 'newegg', I guess
Novatech.co.uk
Also offers alot of components, as well as custom systems. Rated highly on quite a few forums.
dabs.com
Recommended by Big Isy, particularly for free shipping/free game deals.

For Australia, consult Tef's buyer's guide:

Online retailers (Australia-wide)
www.pccasegear.com.au Based in Melbourne, these guys are as close to an Australian Newegg as you will find. PCcasegear are known for their reliable service and good RMA (returning faulty equipment) policies. They have a somewhat decent range of equipment, for Australia and while generally pretty cheap, there certainly are cheaper options out there. For people in Melbourne, you can also visit their store front and pick up the parts personally.

www.msy.au A cheaper alternative to PCcasegear that is still reasonably reliable. MSY does suffer from a limited range and volume of stock on occasion. As of October 2011, they do not have a delivery system in place (in progress, according to MSY) so you will have to pick up the parts from their brick and mortar shops. Fortunately, they have numerous store fronts around the country, so finding one nearby shouldn't be too hard to do. Be aware that when you're shopping online make sure you set your store location to the store that you'll be picking the parts up from. MSY filter their displayed products based on what shop you've selected and it's very annoying to get to the checkout and realise all your parts are only available in far north Queensland.

Other Australia-based online retailers
www.mwave.com.au www.megabuy.com.au www.umart.com.au are some other notable budget PC shops. They'll ship anywhere domestically and are usually competitively priced. Do note that they're budget resellers (particularly in the case of megabuy) and their customer support and shipping status/timeframes may not always be as great as what you'll find from MSY/PCcasegear.

International purchasing
An option exists to purchase parts overseas and ship them in yourself, thus avoiding the mark-up from Aussie vendors. www.priceusa.com.au is the only vendor the writer has experience with and therefore is the only one this writer is prepared to recommend with confidence. There are several caveats associated with international orders, namely that support/returns will be more difficult due to distances and there is a potential for longer lead-times on orders (though this is not always the case). Recommendations for overseas shipping would be that you don't order cases and possibly PSUs from overseas, as the associated hikes in shipping costs make this expensive (it should go without saying that you should do your own research on this point though, as it may be more cost effective depending on where you can buy domestically).

There also exists the option of organising a deal through the PA forums. This will be more difficult as it will require the forumer to takes reception of your goods and then ship them to you themselves. You will need to organise such a deal between yourselves and please be aware that this is an imposition on people and you certainly shouldn't expect people to firstly jump at the chance to help you out and secondly do this for you without some kind of repayment (*cough*steam wish lists*cough*). Moral of the story is that it may be an option for you, but don't count on it. It maybe be worth your while sending an extremely polite and well-written PM to the lovely JWashke (his PA forum handle) as he has mentioned that he MAY be available to help out his poor Australian brethren.

Purchase support and services
www.staticice.com.au and www.ausprices.com are two good price comparison sites that you can use to find who's selling what and for how much. The former is probably the highest quality of the two; just make sure you're looking at the Australian version (i.e. .au at the end)
While ostensibly a forum for PC overlockers,www.forums.overclockers.com.au has a surprisingly good quality sub forum relating to the state of PC part purchasing in Australia. They are a good location for solid advice on retailers (after PA, of course!). The author recommends against the Whirlpool forums, as their wiki isn't really up to date and the quality of posts is, shall we way, subpar. Their wikis and forums sections on networking and all things internet are fantastic, however, and are highly recommended for questions pertaining these matters
Failing all that, send a mention or a PM towards Tef or chrishallett83, both Australian forumers, who are usually more than happy to offer advice.

For Canada apparently the strategy is to buy from NCIX using their pricematching policy. Read more here.

Component Guide:

Motherboards & CPUs: The Electrified Heart of your PC

Motherboards and CPUs are system defining components, so be prepared to spend some time and effort on deciding the right combination for your purposes. They dictate your upgrades paths, your overclocking possibilities, they contribute hugely to the performance of your system, and they're central to a huge number of other decisions you make as you build a PC.

Motherboards

Choosing the right motherboard can help you build a well-balanced, upgradeable system with features aplenty. The wrong motherboard can lead to copious RMAs and wasted time and effort. Below you'll find information and recommendations to take some of the guesswork out of choosing the right board for you.

So what stuff matters in a motherboard?
  • Form Factor: Be aware of the motherboard form factor, you don't want to end up with a motherboard that won't fit in your case.
  • SLI/Crossfire Capability: This generally comes at a price premium, but if multiple GPUs are in your future (or present) it's worth the money. However, if you are definitely only going single card, and don't envision yourself ever using multiple GPUs, don't pay the premium. The basic requirement for SLI is 2 physical PCI-E x16 slots, which run at least at x8/x8 when both are populated. Crossfire can run with a card in a x4 lane, but performance is compromised and I wouldn't recommend that, x8/x8 as a minimum is your best bet. Higher end motherboards (or motherboards on higher end sockets) might support multiple x16 slots running at the full x16. Currently that's limited to higher end AM3/AM3+ boards, X58 boards, and P55/P67/Z68 boards with the NF200 chip. For 2-way SLI/Crossfire, x8/x8 is enough bandwidth to avoid bottlenecking all but the highest of high-end cards, and even then performance loss is relatively miniscule.
  • VRMs: The VRM system in your motherboard is a series of small transistors that function as transformers, taking the +12V power from your PSU and sending it to the CPU, GPU and motherboard components in the correct voltages for those parts. When you see things like "12+2 power phases" being tossed about, they're referring to the number of VRM transformers (in this case, 12 for CPU power and 2 for GPU power). More power phases means lower individual loads on each transformer, which makes for a more stable experience, especially when overclocking. Fewer VRMs, or VRMs of inferior quality, can mean catastrophic damage to the motherboard and potentially other components if you push things too far.
  • Physical Layout: The advent of all double slot GPUs all the time has made the layout of the board, in particular the PCI-E slots, of even greater importance than before. For SLI/Crossfire capable motherboards, you want at least 1 additional expansion slot's worth of space between PCI-E x16 slots to accomodate 2-slot coolers. For motherboards supporting only 2 GPUs, I'd recommend looking for 2 slot's worth of space, to give the top card room to breath. SATA ports should either be of the 90 degree variety (so parallel to the PCB) or placed to ensure they won't be covered by longer graphics cards. Front panel, audio, and USB headers should located on the edge of the board, away from potential conflict with expansion cards. Along the bottom edge is usually best. Keep an eye on CPU socket positioning relative to DIMM slots and motherboard heatsinks. It's tough to avoid DIMM slot conflicts, but most motherboard manufacturers are very good about making certain their motherboard heatsinks don't interfere with aftermarket CPU coolers.
  • Features: This is more nebulous, because what consititutes an acceptable set of features is entirely up to the builder's discretion. Make sure you're buying a board that has all the ports and additional bells and whistles that you desire. Some boards come with automatic hardware/software assisted overclocking options, for example. Do your research here, and choose a board that gives you what you want.

What motherboard brands are worth checking out?
  • ASUS - ASUS is currently my favorite motherboard manufacturer. They usually have some of, if not the, best VRM setups around, and their boards are usually feature-packed with good layouts. They tend to keep their board lineup relatively simple, which does help prevent confusion.
  • Gigabyte - Gigabyte has a reputation for reliability, which I can anecdotally confirm based on my Gigabyte X58 board. Their high end and mid-range boards usually come with solid VRMs, though their lower end offerings can be stingy in that area. Gigabyte generally has solid layouts (with a few questionable calls, like on front panel audio header placement). Their board lineup can be a maze of secondary designations and extremely similar model numbers (UD3 vs. UD3R for example), and they have not yet moved to UEFI based BIOS. Many of their Z68 boards also don't support the GPU virtualization technology that makes the switchable graphics for that platform possible (this shortcoming has been largely addressed by a new wave of Z68XP boards with the Virtu chip onboard).
  • MSI - MSI is my least favorite of the "Big 3" motherboard makers. Their AM3 lineup was notorious for poor VRMs, even the boards that had sufficient power phases endured engineering/manufacturing defects that could cause VRMs to die in a fire. Literally. MSI's layouts for Sandy Bridge have been the worst of the Big 3, with front panel headers and vertical SATA ports placed directly under areas where a second GPU would rest. In general, their motherboards aren't as well built or as well designed as competitor's boards in the same price range. With the TDP and power reqs of Sandy Bridge being so low, and the quality of the VRMs being (hopefully) fairly high, most 115 MSI motherboards aren't likely to be genuine liabilities, but generally I think your money is better spent elsewhere.
  • ASRock - ASRock sprang out of ASUS spinning off a company specifically to target budget-conscious consumers, and as such ASRock is often (though perhaps unfairly) lumped in with companies like Biostar. Their 1155 offerings contradict that impression, though, with generous VRMs, good layouts and accessory bundles, not to mention their aggressive pricing.

As you'll find in the Processors section, my current opinion is that Intel's 1155 socket is the best option available for all but the most restricted of budgets. For individual board recommendations, I'm going to stick with reasonably priced enthusiast 1155 boards here:

P67:
$160 - ASRock P67 Extreme4
$180 - ASUS P8P67 Pro
$180 - Gigabyte P67 UD4

Z68:
$190 - ASRock Z68 Extreme4
$190 - ASUS P8Z68-V
$190 - Gigabyte Z68XP-UD3P

Options on the low and high end: For those building with non-K CPUs, fewer VRMs and/or less effective VRM cooling is less of an issue, as there is no overclocking to stress them beyond normal levels. With that in mind, a solid H67/H61 board is a good bet. For those looking for very high-end boards (perhaps with support for more than 2 GPUs, or multiple x16 lanes) please ask in the thread. There are several different offerings, and your particular feature needs and case selection will be important in determining what board is best for you.

Processors

Compared to motherboards, where layout, build quality and feature-set are the primary concerns, CPUs are a numbers game. Synthetic and real-world benchmarks will tell the story of a proc's prowess, so benchmarks and reviews are your independent research pals. Right now the best processors at reasonable budget levels are Intel's Sandy Bridge processors. They are faster, clock for clock, than previous Intel and current AMD offerings, and are relatively budget friendly.

The current recommendations:

Intel Core i3-2100 - $125.00: Suitable for budget levels ~$600. This is a really solid dual core (with HT) that will hold up its end in all arenas. It's not going to match a real quad-core in heavily threaded apps, but it's not going to be holding your GPU back.

Intel Core i5-2400 - $190.00: Suitable for budget levels ~$800. The 2400 isn't vastly cheaper than the 2500K, but you can run a cheaper H67 board with it and not lament the loss of overclocking potential, so that helps keep costs down. Despite its overclocking limitations, it's a great quad-core.

Intel Core i5-2500K - $220.00: Suitable for budget levels ~$1000 and up. The 2500K doesn't give you Hyper Threading, or make your breakfast, but that's just about the only stuff it won't do. It's hugely powerful, hugely overclockable, and at $220.00, remarkably affordable.

Options on the low and high end: For really low budget options, I recommend asking in the thread. On the high end, there are the i7-2600 and i7-2600K. The basic differences between the 2500K and the 2600K care a marginal stock clockspeed and cache advantage on the 2600K's part, and the 2600K has Hyper-Threading. If you do a lot of heavily threaded workloads, like high-end photo/movie editing or graphic design, the 2600K might justify it's $100 price premium over the 2500K. But if you're just an amateur Photoshop enthusiast while you aren't gaming, stick with the 2500K, it's more than enough CPU to handle the vast majority of tasks.

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  • AlectharAlecthar Alan Shore We're not territorial about that sort of thing, are we?Registered User regular
    edited June 2011
    Memory: Simpler Than it Looks

    Buying RAM these days is really about sticking to some rules and buying from a reputable manufacturer. Follow the guidelines below, and buy from a reputable manufacturer and you should be fine.

    1. Buy DDR3: Only legacy sockets from AMD and Intel support DDR2. If you're building a new PC, you're going to be buying a motherboard that supports DDR3, and DDR4 support is likely a year or more away.

    2. There are only 2 RAM speeds worth worrying about: Unless you're willing to spend lots of money for extremely overclockable RAM, there are only 2 DDR3 speeds you should be thinking about: 1333Mhz and 1600Mhz. In real-world situations, there isn't likely to be any significant difference between performance at those two speeds. More expensive, faster RAM may make your benchmarks look good, but in the real world it doesn't provide enough genuine performance benefit to be worth the price premium. Similarly, buying desktop memory at sub-1333Mhz speeds doesn't save you any significant amount in comparison to the performance detriment (if you can even find memory that slow).

    3. Don't worry about timings: Tighter timings (lower timing numbers) mean that your RAM is faster, but generally speaking you won't see significant real-world benefits from tighter-than-standard timings. Standard 1600Mhz RAM usually runs at 9-9-9-24, which is just fine. Just like RAM speed, generally speaking tighter timings aren't worth the price premium associated with them.

    4. Buy at least 4GB of RAM: Memory utilization for Windows 7 is actually pretty good, but memory usage for programs in general has scaled up over the past few years, and you're definitely going to want at least 4GB of RAM, 8GB if budget allows.

    5. Buy matching DIMMs: Try to buy your RAM in kits (sets of matching DIMMs). If you can't (maybe you already have a single DIMM in the system), you should match model numbers (not just "2GB Corsair Vengeance" but the actual model number of the RAM, "CMZ8GX3M2A1600C9"). So if you're running a single 2GB DIMM and you want to add a second, make sure you purchase an identical 2GB DIMM from the same manufacturer. It's entirely possible that non-matching RAM will function, but you'll eliminate a lot of potential conflicts, issues, and headaches by ensuring that your sets match.

    6. Buy the right kits for your multi-channel setup: So if you have a Triple Channel board (only boards using Intel's LGA1366 socket, like the X58 platform), buy in sets of 3 DIMMs. If you're running on a Dual Channel board (all current-gen AMD chipsets and all non-LGA1366 Intel chipsets), buy in sets of 2. If you don't fill the channel, you're sacrificing performance by not taking advantage of the multi-channel setup.

    7. Follow guideline #6, but always buy the fewest DIMMs possible while doing so: So if you're on a dual channel board and want 8GB of RAM, don't buy 4x2GB sticks. Yes, you're buying in sets of 2, but you'll be filling all your DIMM slots and inhibiting future upgrades. Buy 2x4GB sticks instead.

    8. Pay attention to clearance: Keep your CPU cooler and DIMM slot positioning in mind. Many of the large aftermarket tower style coolers overhang one or more DIMM slots (or have a fan that, when mounted, does so). Avoid contacting your RAM heatsinks with your CPU heatsink or fan, even if no pressure is applied (pressure can result in long-term damage to the DIMM and/or DIMM slot).

    Some solid manufacturers:
    G.SKILL
    Corsair
    Mushkin
    Kingston
    Crucial
    Patriot

    HDDs and SSDs: The Story of Storage

    Storage is (or at least was) profounedly un-sexy. For years, mechanical Hard Disk Drives (HDDs) had been the only reasonable consumer option for this kind of storage, and HDDs are old-school tech. That's not to say they haven't been improved over the many, many years they've been around, but at a certain point you just start taking them for granted. However, the relatively recent advent of Solid State Drives (SSDs) using NAND Flash has rather changed that dynamic. SSDs are faster, lighter, smaller, consume less power and are less fragile than mechanical HDDs. Apparently, the only thing they don't do is cook you breakfast, and that's because they already hired someone for that. You're welcome. Unfortunately for the average user, SSDs (and the technology they're based on) are still maturing, and prices are high. They just aren't feasible for many budgets at this point, especially with the current glut of fantastic 1TB HDDs. The following is intended to give you a rundown of some of the recent history of HDDs and SSDs, as well as some of the drives to look for.

    Hard Disk Drives

    Unless your PC building budget is roughly the same size as the GDP of Latvia, you're going to need at least 1 mechanical HDD, even if you're running an SSD alongside it. Solid State Drives simply haven't yet reached the capacity levels necessary for them to replace a good mechanical hard drive for mass storage. HDDs with eight times the storage capacity of a nice SSD can go for 1/4th the price. Hard drives are good for more than just mass storage, though. Admittedly, no HDD will beat an SSD in speed, but a solid HDD system drive will be more than fast enough for the vast majority of users.

    So what should you be looking for in a system drive?

    1. Spindle Speed: The RPM rating of a mechanical hard drive is the speed at which the spindle, and thus the platters (the magnetized disks holding data) inside the drive spin. The higher the RPM, the faster the drive. For a system drive you want at least a 7200 RPM drive.

    2. Capacity: I'd say at least 500GB. 1TB is often the sweet spot, price-wise. Good 2TB 7200RPM drives do exist, but they're expensive.

    3. Cache and Platter size: Most relatively recent 500GB and 1TB HDDs are single platter drives, which is good for performance. I'd say that 16MB of cache is good for a 500GB drive, 32MB is good for 1TB.

    4. SATA II: I'm not sure HDDs using legacy interfaces like IDE and SATA I are still available, but if so avoid them. You also don't need SATA III compatibility, as no mechanical HDD can saturate the 3Gb/s link provided by SATA II, much less double that. You don't need to avoid SATA III HDDs, but often the SATA II models are less expensive and perform just as well.

    My current favorite system drive HDD is the Samsung Spinpoint F3 1TB. Other good options include the Western Digital Black 1TB drives, the Seagate 7200.12 1TB drives, and the Hitachi 7200 RPM Desktar 1TB drives.

    When looking for a storage drive, things are simpler. Spindle speed can be lower (5400 RPM) and higher capacity drive sizes (2TB) are more affordable. I'd look at the Western Digital Green 2TB drives, Hitachi 5K300 2TB drives, and the Samsung F4 2TB drives.

    Solid State Drives

    SSDs are a whole other world. Rather than spinning disks, SSDs utilize solid state memory (most commonly NAND Flash, like the stuff in a USB memory stick, though NOR Flash or DRAM SSDs also exist largely in enterprise environments). Most NAND Flash drives consume significantly less power than mechanical hard drives, and without the need to accomdate platters and head mechanisms, they can be produced in signficantly smaller form factors. SSDs are significantly lighter than desktop hard drives, and are entirely silent. Solid State Drives have no moving parts, and are thus significantly less fragile than hard drives. They can sustain shocks and movement while in operation without damage, and (for obvious reasons) do not sustain mechanical wear and tear. Manufacturing defects and poor materials can still result in premature drive death, but a lack of moving parts essentially eliminates mechanical failure. Read/Write speeds are significantly faster than mechanical drives, and random access/seek times and latency are extremely low by comparison to mechanical drives.

    There are definite downsides to SSDs as well, though. Unlike mechanical drives, there is often a significant delta between read and write speeds for solid state storage. NAND Flash is also rated for a limited number of write/erase cycles (3,000 for the 20nm NAND used in current-gen SSDs). The Flash may continue to function beyond its rating, but it's only guaranteed to function reliably up to that point. Failure, in whole or in part, could occur on the 3001st cycle, or the 8000th. Current NAND Flash SSDs also experience issues with degradation in write performance over time. TRIM or good garbage collection can do a lot to alleviate these issues, but all overwrites (for instance, saving a new version of a document under the same name as the original, thus overwriting the original) will occur at lower than the rated write speed. These problems result from a disparity in the way NAND Flash writes and erases data.

    Perhaps the most persuasive argument against SSDs, though, is the sheer expense associated with owning one, and the exceedingly poor ratio between the cost and capacity. It's expensive to own even a relatively small SSD. One large enough to store your OS and a few critical programs will cost you over $100, and you'll likely need a good 7200 RPM HDD for the rest of your programs anyway. Larger capacities are significantly more expensive.

    So what would I recommend? Well, I wouldn't contort my budget to include one, but if you have the money, they're great. At this point I'd go with a newer SATA III capable drive, and there are a few good options. The new Sandforce SF-2200 controller is an excellent platform, and many quality companies (OCZ, Corsair, G.SKILL, Mushkin, and others) are using the controller in their SSDs. Most of the drives using that controller will feature very similar performance. Intel continues to provide solid performance paired with reliable, non-finicky operation with their 510 series SSDs and Crucial's new M4 SSDs are also very good options.

    Cases and PSUs: Basics and Recommendations

    Choosing a case and PSU for your new PC build is often something of an afterthought. It's easy to make the mistake of focusing in hard on your sweet, sweet CPU and GPU purchases, buying the best performing components you can afford, then sticking them in whatever case you can buy with what's left of your budget, along with the cheapest PSU you could find that would (supposedly) power your build.

    The reality is that Cases and PSUs are, in a way, the most important part of any PC build. A case with poor cooling performance might result in long term (or, in extreme cases, even short-term) damage to your components. The harder it is to build in your case, the more likely you are to accidentally damage the case, your components, or yourself (the cheaper the case, the sharper the edges) trying to force things. And if the case was hard to build in, it won't be easy to upgrade components in, or clean. Keep in mind that a great case is an investment. Unlike a processor or graphics card, which can go from cream of the crop to just 2nd (or 3rd) best in the time it takes to get it shipped to your door, your case can be around for a long time, and be home to many upgrades and new builds, as long as you buy a solid model that gives you room to grow. It's worth the extra expense. A PSU is even more significant. A quality, enthusiast grade PSU is a solid, efficient, purpose built piece of electronics, and if you keep things reasonable, it will serve you well through upgrades, and even new builds. A quality PSU can do all you ask of it and more, and while you shouldn't go crazy, you'd be surprised by what a nice Seasonic or Corsair or Antec (etc.) can do for you. Of course, if you choose poorly, you could turn your multi-hundred dollar PC build into a paperweight fashioned of smoldering silicon trapped within sheet metal.

    Below you'll find information and guidelines on Case and PSU choice, as well as some recommendations (prices current as of June 13, 2011) on what might be a good buy for your budget.

    Cases

    When looking at cases, I recommend looking for the following features as a baseline:

    1. Cable Management - At this point, reasonable cable management features are so common in cases at all budget levels that there really isn't any reason to buy a case without them. Sometimes the case will have a large void on the right side of the motherboard tray (many older Cooler Master cases like the CM Storm Sniper use this method), others will have cutouts (sometimes with rubber grommets) to bring cables back through. Ideally the case will feature a cutout for your 8 pin CPU power cable as well, but some cheaper cases with cable management don't have them. If you're lucky and careful, you might be able to thread your 8 pin under your motherboard and through the CPU backplate cutout to mimic the effect. Regardless of the style or number/location of cutouts offered, the basic idea is always the same, moving cables behind the motherboard tray as much as possible and bringing them out right where they need to be. Cable management doesn't just make your case innards look pretty, it helps your case stay cool.

    2. Bottom-mounted PSU w/ Vent - Once again, this feature is very common on quality cases of all budget levels, so you shouldn't have any trouble finding something you like. Basically this feature improves case layout by placing your PSU at the bottom of the case, where it can intake cool air from under the case and exhaust it. It largely removes your PSU from the thermal equation. It's nice if the vent is filtered.

    3. Good Thermal Options - At the very least your case should have mounts for a front intake fan, and a rear exhaust fan. These should be at least 120mm fan mounts. Ideally you'll have options side intake and top exhaust fans as well (2 fan mounts for each location is fairly standard in a good enthusiast level case). If you have multiple front intake fans (or a single larger, say, 200mm fan) the side intake is less important. Filtered intakes are a plus.

    4. General Good Design - I always look for a few additional good design decisions in a case. A good case should feature at least some tool-less/screwless options for hardware mounting. Understandably, tool-less mechanisms are less numerous the lower the price of the case, but the best budget options still often feature thumbscrews, and/or a single tool-less mount on the 5.25 bays. The HDD cages should be oriented to place the "back" of the drive, where your SATA and Power connectors are, toward the side of the case with the motherboard tray, to facilitate cable routing. Keep an eye out for a nice sized CPU backplate cutout, it'll make attaching an aftermarket cooler immeasurably easier. Finally, most cases worth your time will have at least 2 front panel USB 2.0 ports to go with the HD audio hookups.

    Naturally, these baselines can't cover everything, depending on your budget or intended usage (HTPC cases are usually pretty short on cable routing possibilities, for example) you might find that some of those features aren't necessary to you. But, for a standard tower for the computer enthusiast and/or gamer, that's the stuff you want.

    After you've taken a look at what's available and eliminated those cases that just don't make the cut, buy within your budget, and keep aesthetics under consideration. You'll be less inclined to take care of something you can barely stand to look at. There are a number of unique touches and additions that can increase the value of the case for your particular build, so be thorough and make sure you've found something you can live with. If you're having trouble figuring out where to start, check the list below for some good starting points at various budget levels. PM me if you think your case is rad and I don't have it on the list!


    NOTE: This list ignores shipping costs.

    Power Supplies

    Buying a power supply is a crucial decision, and it doesn't respond well to the kind of "pop it in our test rig and benchmark it" style of reviewing that most PC component review sites tend to favor. In many cases, a power supply that runs a test rig just fine can be less efficient than advertised, unable to pull its rated peak wattage, and have out of specification electrical ripple and noise that can damage your components. Fewer sites than you'd think actually test power supplies correctly, below are 3 of my favorites:

    johnnyGuru
    [H]ardOCP
    Hardware Secrets

    All of these sites are very transparent about their methodology, which is good because I've found that legitimate power supply reviews are very important in determing the correct supply to buy. For example, reviews might help you find out that while some Antec PSU lines are very solid (True Power New, original Earthwatts below 650W), others are mediocre to terrible (new Earthwatts, original Earthwatts from 650W and up, Basiq). This hodgepodge of awesome, acceptable, and awful product lines occurs largely because most major PSU vendors sell PSU lines that are rebadged (and sometimes modified) power supplies from other companies (Seasonic, CWT, and many others). So, while one line might benefit by being based on a solid Seasonic platform, another might be crippled by being based on a (literally) explosive Huntkey PSU. Because you don't have time to deconstruct a boatload of power supplies, your best option is to let good, reputable reviewers do the legwork for you.

    So, you have some good resources that will let you know what to look for, but when you find it, you find that it has 2 12V rails, and your good buddy told you that quality PSUs should only have a single 12V rail. Or, it's modular, and that same buddy told you all about how that's bad and not as good as hardwired cables.

    Your buddy is an idiot.

    Apologies for my bluntness, but there are numerous myths/semi-myths that you hear all the time about PSUs that can really interfere with the buying process. Let's take a look at some “conventional wisdom” that is simply incorrect:
    • Modular cabling increases resistance/is another point of failure/is at increased risk for corrosion: The first and second points are technically true, but in the first case, the added resistance is entirely negligible, it's roughly equivalent to a few additional inches of cabling. Modular cables are, in theory, at slightly increased risk for failure, but the risk is very slim in a quality supply, and if you use PSU cable extensions (for example) you're essentially assuming the same risk, just slightly further down the cable. The third claim is just untrue. Modular cabling, either in fully or partially modular supplies, is really helpful in maintaining a clean build. It's a nice feature to have that usually comes at a price premium. Don't spend loads of additional money on it, but it is worth a reasonable amount of cash to have on a quality supply.
    • Single Rail/Multi Rail designs are superior to Multi Rail/Single Rail designs: The objections here are slightly different. Single rail designs get boosted by many because of issues multi-rail supplies had 4-5 years ago with load balancing. Since then, design has improved and those problems are a thing of the past (at least in quality supplies). Multi-rail supplies are “superior” because Single-Rail supplies above a certain wattage (around 600W) have OCP (over current protection) that is set so high out of necessity (because all of the current on the 12V rail is on a single rail) that it's likely that, in the event of a short circuit that the SCP (Short Circuit Protection) doesn't catch, you'll sustain serious to catastrophic component damage before the OCP kicks in. Now, it's really unlikely that such a short circuit would occur, so really Multi-Rail vs. Single-Rail is a non-issue, but if you really want the absolute safest supply and you need more than 600ish Watts, go with a quality Multi-Rail unit.
    • Headroom! More Headroom!: Okay, so often I'm the first person to buy more than I need, but a quality PSU is a well-designed, precision engineered, ass-kicking beast with as many safety precautions built in as the manufacturer can fit onto a PCB. Additionally, a quality supply is often rated for a peak wattage significantly below what the supply can actually sustain. Why? Because a power supply is actually most efficient at between 40 and 60 percent of load. So, if you design a PSU that could technically be rated at 1000W, then label it as a 750W model, the peak wattage is closer to the 40%-60% range where the PSU is most efficient, so you get better efficiency results. Basically, don't overdo it with buying headroom, most reasonably priced enthusiast level builds will need an absolute maximum of 850W (and that's if you plan to Crossfire/SLI cards in the 200W pull range, like the 5870), and many require significantly less.

    So with all that said, here's a few manufacturer recommendations/warnings to keep in mind as you buy your PSU:

    The Good
    Corsair – Corsair has made something of a name for itself in the PSU sector, and they do make some of the better PSUs available today (their AX series, mostly). Many of their older lines are still favorites among enthusiasts, though other companies have come out with competing/superior lines. Still, those are completely solid supplies, even if they aren't the best performers anymore. With the exception of the current “Builder Series” (PSUs labeled CX430, CX500, CX600, which are labeled at higher wattages than they probably should be), and the new Gamer Series (which are solid, but probably overpriced, and mostly exist to be sold at brick and mortar outlets like Best Buy) I would recommend a Corsair supply without hesitation.

    Seasonic – Seasonic makes some of the best PSUs in the world, including most of the best PSUs in the world from vendors like Corsair and Antec. You see, Seasonic is both an OEM vendor, and a Retail vendor. Most of their retail supplies are clustered around lower wattages, usually under 650W, but they make high quality, efficient supplies.

    Enermax – Enermax is an odd duck, they don't seem to get much attention, but they have some of the best (if not outright the best) high wattage units in the business. They aren't always priced the most competitively, but Enermax maintains a reputation for excellence.

    Antec – Despite my continued dislike of Antec's Basiq series of PSUs, I've come to the conclusion that Antec is doing much more right than wrong in the PSU market these days. The True Power New line (which appears to be EOLed) is great, as are the True Power Quattro units. The Antec Neo Eco units are really solid Seasonic-based units that are absolutely perfect for budget-conscious builders. The Antec High Current Gamer supplies are, at least at most wattages, built on the Seasonic S12II Bronze platform, so they're also a great budget-friendly choice. Antec also makes one of the best 1200W supplies available, the 1200W High Current Pro. The Earthwatts line is an adequate budget-friendly line of PSUs. I wouldn't use their higher wattage units in a higher-end build, but their low-wattage units are reliable, even if their performance won't wow you.

    The Mediocre
    Thermaltake – Thermaltake pretty much averages out to mediocre. Their Toughpower and Toughpower XT lines are both solid, if generally overpriced. Their other lines, though, like their TR2 supplies, are generally terrible, with a few thoroughly mediocre units in the mix.

    The Bad
    Cooler Master – It's surprising, in a way, that a company that makes some really great cases also makes some exceptionally terrible PSUs. Out of all the power supplies that Cooler Master has in their lineup, only the Silent Pro M is really worth your time, and even those supplies aren't particularly good values. Aside from the 4 supplies in that line, avoid like the plague.

    Ultra Products – Ultra has had a fairly tarnished reputation for a while, and has made some steps toward redemption recently, but between their fairly frivolous lawsuit regarding modular PSUs, and some recent incidences of them falsely claiming SLI certification, it's really hard to label them as anything other than a cruddy company.

    Generics – God help me, don't use the power supply that came with your case.

    As for specific purchasing recommendations...well it's hard to say. PSU choice is heavily dependent on what particular wattage, feature set, and connector demands you have. Buy a good supply from a good company, and be prepared to spend at least 50 to 60 bucks, even if you're looking at something in the 500W range. It sucks to spend money, but this is one of those instances where you will pay significantly more later if you try to save 20 bucks now.

    Alecthar on
  • AlectharAlecthar Alan Shore We're not territorial about that sort of thing, are we?Registered User regular
    edited June 2011
    The Great Penny Arcade Build Thread Gallery Project!

    TGPABTGP! is our very own gallery of self-built (and modified pre-built) computers. All of these fancy machines belong to your fellow PA forumers, some of whom heavily utilized this thread in building it, others of whom told us all to suck it and went their own way. Even if you've never heard of this thread, as long as you've built your own PC, or modified/upgraded that HP monstrosity your parents insist on calling a real computer, then you're welcome to space here as well! Please don't hesitate to send in pictures because your photo-fu is weak, or you can only take pics with a phone camera or laptop webcam, cruddy pictures are better than nothing. Please also be aware that the intent of TGPABTGP! is not to invite criticism of the builds submitted, just to showcase them for the edification of your peers, so even if your cabling is a rat's nest, and your case a crime against humanity, submit your build, because no one will point that out! Naturally, if you would like advice/criticism feel free to post in the thread proper.

    So now that those honeyed words have convinced you to do so, how do you get your rig up here? PM Alecthar (that handsome fellow with the Alan Shore avatar, he's around here somewhere) with the following:
    • Any and all pics of your rig you'd like to make available for our viewing pleasure. The easiest way is just to give Alecthar links to where they're hosted on your web site, or Photobucket/Imageshack or the like.
    • Your rig's name (if applicable)
    • Your full system specs
    • Your comments/advice/recommendations/threats against Alecthar's life in retaliation for his poor advice/etc.
    • Your particular preference for 2-3 pictures you think were the best/most representative of your rig

    But enough about you! You haven't even submitted a build yet, you lazy sonofabitch, these guys are the real stars! (in no particular order):

    Crashbox by UEAKCrash
    UEAKCrash%20Full%20Setup.JPGSide%20Panel%20Close%20Scaled.JPGUEAKCrash%20Internals.JPG

    System Specs
    2x ASUS VW224U 22" 2ms LCD's
    Zalman Z9 Plus black steel ATX Mid Tower
    Antec TruePower TP-650 650W PSU
    MSI P67A-GD65 (B3) Motherboard
    MSI N560GTX-TI Twin Frozr II/OC GeForce GTX 560 Ti (Fermi) 1GB
    G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666)
    Intel Core i5-2500K Sandy Bridge 3.3GHz (@4.2 with a quick, lazy overclock)
    COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 Plus CPU Cooler
    Intel X25-M 120GB SATA II Solid State Hard Drive
    Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 1.5TB 7200RPM Hard Drive
    M-Audio Audiophile 192 HD Recording Soundcard
    Logitech G500 10 Button Mouse
    Audio-Technica ATH-M50 Headphones
    NZXT Sleeved Green LED kit (2 Meter)
    Flexiglow Tri-lazer LED kit pointing at heatsink and video card

    Comments:
    UEAKCrash wrote:
    SSD is hiding behind the motherboard tray. The cable management was a lot better before I tried to put on the side panel and realized how much I had crammed in there. Also the colors look a lot better in person, as the green highlights all of the blue fans in a really cool way.

    All the Pics and Nothing but the Pics
    The Whole Shebang
    The Guts
    Full Frontal
    Side Panel Close-Up 1
    Side Panel Close-Up 2
    Side Panel Close-Up 3
    Side Panel Close-Up 4

    Thankfully Not Initiating Failure by intiatefailure
    Angled%20View%20Scaled.jpgInternals%201%20Scaled.jpg

    System Specs
    CPU: Intel i5 2500k
    Mobo: Asus P8P67 Pro
    Case: CoolerMaster Haf 932 Full Tower
    GPU: EVGA 460 1GB
    CPU Cooler: Corsair H70
    PSU: XFX 750W
    RAM: 8GB (4GB x 2) Corsair 1333 RAM
    HDD : 3 1Tb drives. A WD Black, Hitachi something or other and a Samsung Spinpoint.
    Monitor: ASUS 22" LED 1920x1080 and a Samsung 19" LCD 1400x900
    Accessories-
    Front Panel USB 3.0
    Keyboard: Logitech Illuminated keyboard
    Mouse: Microsoft G500
    Gamecon Plantronics Headset
    Wacom Bamboo tablet
    Random 2.1 Speaker Set

    Comments:
    Build issues: It probably took longer to do cable management than to put everything together. And the thermal paste I used had an odd consistency. Maybe I was just expecting it to spread like a wet substance not a more solid one. A full tower is godlike for working space yet somehow my PSU is still right up against some of my cables for front audio and USBs. which upsets me slightly.

    Side note: It has both front and rear panel Firewire and eSATA. When the hell am I going to use either of those?

    Final thoughts: My computer has wheels! Weeee!

    All the Pics and Nothing but the Pics
    Angled View
    Side Panel View
    The Guts 1
    The Guts 2: The Gutsening

    Svengali by Skoal Cat
    Exterior%2B1%2BScaled.jpgInterior%201%20Scaled.jpg

    System Specs
    Case: IN WIN BL631.300TBL Black Steel MicroATX Slim Case Computer Case 300W Power Supply
    RAM: 4GB (2x2) Kingston 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333
    PSU: SeaSonic SS-300TFX Bronze 300W TFX12V v2.3 80 PLUS BRONZE
    CPU: AMD Athlon II X2 245 Regor 2.9GHz 2 x 1MB L2 Cache Socket AM3 65W Dual-Core Desktop Processor
    OS: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
    DVD : Sony Optiarc Black 24X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 12X DVD+R DL 24X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 2MB Cache SATA DVD Burner with LightScribe LightScribe Support
    HDD : HITACHI Deskstar HD31000 IDK/7K (0S00163) 1TB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive
    Card Reader: Rosewill RCR-IC001 40-in-1 USB 2.0 3.5" Internal Card Reader w/ USB Port
    Mobo: GIGABYTE GA-785GMT-USB3 AM3 AMD 785G HDMI USB 3.0 Micro ATX AMD Motherboard
    Fan: ENERMAX UC-8EB 80mm Case Fan

    Comments:
    Skoal Cat wrote:
    Nothing that glows, nothing gaudy, very sleek design to help this HTPC fit in with my other home theater equipment.

    This was my first build ever, and even though I consider myself a capable guy... I had some problems. First of all, this is a tiny fucking case (which I wanted) and there is no real wiggle room. I've had this thing for five months and I just figured out a new trick it has (the HDD can fit sideways under the optical drive). Its a weird weird case but is so awesomely and devilishly small. Course, the shitty PSU it came with died. Finding a replacement that actually fit was a royal pain in the ass, but Newegg was awesome and sent it to me for free. I also bent about a dozen CPU pins trying to clamp it into place by not realizing it wasn't lined up to begin with. Got them unbent and back into place (phew). I also needed a 4 pin to 8 pin adapter to fit the PSU to my mobo.
    The fan I'm using is absurdly quiet and my entire system runs equally as absurdly quiet.

    This is an awesome case, but the biggest problem I ran into was myself not paying attention. The case is also a bit too deep for most shelves, so it sticks out about an inch and a half. I might move it next to the TV just to get it flush with something.

    All the Pics and Nothing but the Pics
    Exterior Shot
    From the Top
    A Fistful of Guts
    For a Few Guts More
    HDD Position
    What Skoal Cat Apparently Thinks of as "Extra Space"

    Thank God I Don't Pay for Utilities by Alecthar
    AX1200%252520Internals.JPGAX1200%252520Behind%252520Tray.JPGFinished%252520for%252520Now.JPG

    System Specs:
    CPU - Intel i7-2600K
    GPU - 2x EVGA GTX 580
    Motherboard - ASUS P8P67 Pro Rev 3.0
    RAM - 2x4GB Corsair DDR3
    SSD - G.SKILL 120GB Sniper (Basically a rebadged Phoenix Pro)
    HDD - 2x Samsung Spinpoint F3 1TB in RAID 0
    Optical Drive - External Lite-On DVD/CD Burner
    PSU - Corsair AX1200
    Case - Corsair 600T
    CPU Cooling - Prolimatech Megahalems in Push/Pull config w/ 2 Akasa Apache Black fans

    Comments:
    Alecthar wrote:
    Buy zip-ties. Long ones. In bulk. Not kidding.

    There's so much to love about the 600T. I went with a fully modular supply, partly just because I could, and partly because I'm getting ridiculously tired of hiding a second, unnecessary 8-pin CPU power cable. Removing the stand that the hard drive cages rest on is kind of a bitch, you have to take the front bezel of the case off entirely. I'm currently running an external DVD/CD burner, so the 5.25' bays are likely staying empty until I decide to watercool. My fancy case window side panel is in the mail, and I've got someone doing some laser-etching on the acrylic when it comes in.

    All the Pics and Nothing but the Pics
    External
    Internal
    A Horror Beyond Imagining

    So Easy a Munky Can Do It by cadmunky
    5641743103_25cb0735df.jpg5641739481_e8987a25bd.jpg

    System Specs
    CPU - Intel Core i5-2500K 3.30Ghz Unlocked, stock cooling
    GPU - XFX Nvidia GeForce GTX 260 896Mb
    Motherboard - MSI P67A-C43 B3
    RAM - 2x4096GB Patriot PC10666 DDR3
    HDD - Seagate Barracuda 1.5TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s
    2x WD Caviar 200Gb 7200 RPM SATA
    Optical Drive - HPDVD270 Lightscribe DVDRW
    PSU - Corsair CMPSU-800G
    Case - Thermaltake Tsunami Dream

    Comments:
    cadmunky wrote:
    Card readers are a thing of the past, right? Yeah, that's for the trash. This case was great for a modular PSU, but the recent setup has me looking at the improved cable management options of newer cases, maybe at the same time the GPU gets an upgrade.

    All the Pics and Nothing but the Pics
    Exterior 1
    Exterior 2
    Exterior 3
    Interior 1
    Interior 2

    Thousand-Year-Old Dragon by Simpsonia
    External%201%20Scaled.jpgInternal%201%20Scaled.jpg

    System Specs
    Case: Truly ancient Chieftec Dragon (complete with Athlon 64 sticker badge) from 2001.
    Processor: Intel i5-2500
    RAM: 8GB (2x4) G.Skill Ripjaws DDR3 1600
    Motherboard: ASRock P67 Extreme4
    PSU: Corsair Enthusiast Series 650W
    Graphics: Gigabyte OC2 GTX460 1GB
    HDD : Seagate SV35 1TB
    OS: Win 7 Pro

    Comments:
    I am terrible at cable management, as can be noticed at first glance. But I do love this old case, it's as heavy and sturdy as a rock and has survived countless moves and LAN parties, often doubling as a bench/chair and pretty much acts as a footrest every day. I really do need some new case fans though, as it is still rocking the originals, which make terrible grinding noise for about the first 20 minutes after booting up. I am really liking this motherboard too. It even came with a free 3.5" expansion bay insert for 2xUSB 3.0 slots which is great since the built in USB slots are still USB 1.0.

    All the Pics and Nothing but the Pics
    External
    Internal

    Finally by Stupid
    Components%20Scaled.jpgExternal%20Scaled.jpgInternals%20Scaled.jpg

    System Specs
    Case:Antec 300 (reused)
    PSU: CORSAIR CMPSU-650TX 80 PLUS Certified (reused)
    Mobo: ASUS P8P67 PRO (REV 3.0)
    CPU: Intel Core i5-2500K Sandy Bridge
    Cooler: COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 Plus
    GPU: XFX ATI Radeon HD6870
    Audio: Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi XtremeGamer (reused)
    RAM: Mushkin Enhanced Blackline 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 1600
    HDD : Crucial RealSSD C300 128GB SATA III Internal Solid State Drive
    Optical: LITE-ON Black SATA CD/DVD Burner - Bulk - OEM (reused)
    OS: Windows 7 Professional

    Comments:
    Stupid wrote:
    I started buying parts for this build in January, buying one thing every paycheck, so it has been a long time coming.

    I know there is some bad feeling in this forum about the Antec 300 case, but I really like the clean no-nonsense look that this guy has. Having the front panel USB/audio jacks at the top of the case are important to me (my system lives under my desk). Plus I already had this case and decided to reuse it. Cable management was not that big of a deal. The picture is of the complete install, with everything connected and ready to go. I did have to flip the rear fan 180-degrees, mounting it "upside down" (but still blowing out) to get a little extra wire length.

    I've never used an aftermarket CPU cooler and I have to say that the Coolermaster solution was so much nicer to install! No more "press really really hard until something goes SNAP" and hope that it was the right part that made the noise. Having said that, the CPU made a very scary creaking noise as it set onto the mainboard.

    The SSD is so tiny and small! I didn't have any adapter bracket so I only attached it to the side of the bottom 5-1/4" bay using only two screws. It is literally "hanging off the side" of the drive enclosure. It's so light that the two screws should be more than enough to secure it; the CPU cooler has a lot more tension on its mount than the SSD is putting on the screws.

    I was blown away by the new Asus GUI for BIOS setup. Also surprising was the POST "beep" - which has been replaced by a POST "chirp". I haven't even tried overclocking this thing yet. I'm pretty sure I can eek out those last 0.3 performance points with a little judicious overclocking!

    My only item for concern is that the system will not cold boot without me going into the BIOS. It will POST, then hang before starting to load the OS. I don't need to change anything, but just opening the BIOS program, then quitting will get the system running. Once running, it goes flawlessly. (I played Portal 2 start to finish on it yesterday.)

    Total build cost: $1121.44 (including the re-used parts)

    All the Pics and Nothing but the Pics
    The Components
    Internals
    Externals
    Stupid mocking you with his Performance Index, that jerk

    Konril by Elliotw2
    Front%20View%20Scaled.jpgSide%20View%20Scaled.jpgInternals%20Scaled.jpg

    System Specs
    Case:NXZT MidTower
    PSU: Antec 650W Greenwatts
    Mobo:ASUS M4N68T-M
    CPU: AMD Phenom II X4 935
    GPU: EVGA 9600GT
    Audio: Creative X-Fi Xtremesound
    RAM: G.Skill DDR3
    HDD : Western Digital 500GB SATA "Green"
    Western Digital 200GB IDE
    Hitachi 150GB SATA
    Optical: Lite-on IDE DVD burner
    OS: Windows Vista

    Comments
    elliotw2 wrote:
    I got most of this from Newegg's Black Friday sales, and then reused everything else out of the computer I was using at the time. It runs pretty well, and I like how the case looks, with the optical bay, and both fans glowing blue when it has power. However, for some reason the front two USB ports are USB 1.1 only. My cable management is a little bad, but my PSU does have enough cables to power at least two systems at once.

    Links to Full-Size Pictures
    Front View
    Side View
    Internals
    The GPU and Sound Card
    The rear, with dust, and some legacy ports

    If Iolo can do it, You can do it by Iolo
    Shebang%201%20Scaled.jpgShebang%202%20Scaled.jpgInternals%20Scaled.jpg

    System Specs
    Case:LIAN LI Lancool K62
    PSU: Corsair 750W
    Mobo:GIGABYTE GA-790XTA-UD4
    CPU: AMD Phenom II X4 955
    GPU: MSI Twin Frozr II 6870
    RAM: G.SKILL 8GB DDR3 1600
    Boot Drive: Intel X25-M 80GB
    Data Drive: SAMSUNG Spinpoint 1TB
    Optical: LITE-ON
    OS: Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit

    Comments
    Iolo wrote:
    lowlylowlycook and Alecthar answered all my there-are-no-dumb-questions-wink-wink questions. I've been up and running since last June and upgraded the video card to a whisper quiet 6870 just yesterday. Seriously, if you are reading this and aren't sure you can build your own PC, you can do it.

    Full-Size Pictures
    The Whole Shebang
    Once More, With Borderlands!
    Internals

    It's about dang time he posted this by Pirusu
    sam0187t.jpgsam0186i.jpg

    System Specs
    Case: Coolermaster HAF 922
    PSU: Seasonic X-750
    Mobo: ASUS M4A89GTD PRO
    CPU: AMD Phenom II X4 965
    Cooler: Thermalright Venomous-X
    GPU: XFX Black Edition Radeon 6870
    RAM: OCZ 4GB DDR3 1600
    Disk Drive: WD Caviar Black 500gb
    Optical: LG
    OS: Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit

    Comments
    Pirusu wrote:
    The ol' Crimbo build! I have the Phenom clocked to 4ghz. The fan on the cooler, and the fan directly above the cooler are Yate Loon D12SHs, the other 120mm fans are Yate Loon D12SLs. THe cooler is mounted the way it is due to some tests showing that if it's mounted vertically instead of horizontally, the liquid in the heatpipes don't have to fight gravity (That's right kids, the pipes on those massive coolers have stuff in 'em!) And yes, the white bracket looks rediculous, but I've been too lazy to order a set of clips from TR.

    You All Should Really Just Buy 600Ts by Hardtarget
    Cabling%20Scaled.JPGInternals%20Scaled.JPG

    System Specs
    Intel Core i7 2600K
    ASUS P8P67 Pro
    Mushkin Enhanced Silverline Stiletto 8GB 2X4GB DDR3-1333
    HIS Radeon HD 6950 2GB
    OCZ Vertex 2 Extended Sandforce 120GB
    Hitachi Deskstar 7K1000.C 1TB 1000GB
    LG CH10LS20 Bluray Reader & DVD Writer Combo Drive
    Corsair Graphite Series 600T
    Corsair Professional Series Gold AX750

    Comments:
    Hardtarget wrote:
    My plan is to put a second 6950 2gig into the system and enable crossfire but I haven't gotten around to it yet. Back in January this cost me $1640 Canadian with Tax so not too bad. Sadly I had one of the very first Sandybridge Mobos off of the line so I had to go through the process of exchanging it for a new one with Asus and then rebuilding it which was a bit of a hassle but oh well.

    Full-Size Pictures
    Internals
    The Price of Beauty
    I Learned everything you see here from Alecthar by b1rdman
    Components%20Scaled.JPGExternal%20Scaled.JPGInternal%20Scaled.JPG


    System Specs:
    OS: Windows 7 Professional 64 bit
    Case: Antec 900 II
    PSU: XFX XXX 650w 80+ Modular
    HDD :Samsung Spinpoint F3 1TB 7200
    RAM: G.Skill Ripjaws X 8GB DDR3 1600
    MOBO: ASUS P8P67 PRO <REV 3.0>
    CPU: Intel Core i5 2500k
    GPU: ASUS GTX 560 ti 1GB
    DVD : Lite-On DVD/CD Burner
    Total price: $790

    Comments:
    Got a fatal error first boot-up. Said system chassis intrusion or something, but was easily fixed by a soft reset, windows installed right away, and I was up and running in minutes. Also, I ran into a few short cable issues, as can be seen by the lonely 12V running through the middle of the case. So, when I can get whatever it is that I need(?), I plan to clean it up some more. I feel like I did a good job cable wise for what I had to deal with, just want to make it neater.

    Listen to what others have been saying. It is easy to do. This is my first build, and I just went at it without any prior knowledge. Thanks for everyone who helped, especially Alecthar and Mcdermot.

    Full-Sized Links
    Building Blocks
    Internals
    Outside Looking In
    Seriously I hate FF8, Stop Asking Me About It by Squall
    E1WBOl.jpg3Fr8Ul.jpg
    L2K9Ol.jpg

    System Specs:
    CPU - Intel i5-2500K
    GPU - SAPPHIRE Radeon HD 6950 1GB
    Motherboard - ASRock P67 Extreme4 (B3)
    RAM - 2x2GB Mushkin DDR3
    HDD - 3x Western Digital HDDs totaling 1.75TB
    Optical Drive - Lite-On DVD/CD Burner
    PSU - XFX 650W 8- Plus Bronze
    Case - Corsair 600T (White)
    CPU Cooling - Cooler Master Hyper 212+

    Comments:
    Squall wrote:
    Jesus jumped-up christ this case is everything I've ever wanted in a case. From the rubber grommets for perfect cable management, to the removable outer gratings for better airflow, to the removable drive bays, to the giant 200mm fans with fan controller to the well you get it.

    Get a 600T.

    All the Pics and Nothing but the Pics
    External Large
    Internal1 Large
    Internal2 Large

    Back In Black by mcdermott
    IMAG0019.jpgIMAG0027.jpgIMAG0028.jpg

    In the case:

    ASUS P8P67 PRO Motherboard
    Intel i5-2500K
    ASUS ENGTX560 TI DCII/2DI/1GD5 GeForce GTX 560 Ti
    Kingston HyperX 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3-1600 RAM
    Sound Blaster X-Fi Titanium Sound Card
    3xSamsung Spinpoint F4 2TB Hard Drives (4TB RAID5)
    Xigmatek Dark Knight CPU Cooler
    NZXT Sentry 2 Fan Controller
    4x120mm fans, 1x140mm fan (all Xigmatek)
    Some Shitty DVD Drive
    Antec Three Hundred Case
    Antec TruePower New TP-750 750W PSU

    On the Desk:

    Logitech K350 Wireless Keyboard
    Razer DeathAdder Mouse
    Razer Nostromo Speedpad
    Some Shitty Logitech Speakers
    Astro Mixamp and A40 Headset
    1920x1080 Main Monitor (ASUS)
    1600x900 Secondary Monitor (AOC)
    Xbox Wireless Controller Adapter

    Comments:
    mcdermott wrote:
    With a little creativity, I managed to get my cabling in the Antec Three Hundred under control. Not the prettiest in the world (and had to buy an extension for the 8-pin mobo connector to run it around the edge), but it works. Also wound up finally chucking the Antec TriCool fans that came with it (including the 140mm) in favor of Xigmateks...nice and quiet, push plenty of air, and I control the speed with the front-bay fan controller.

    Overall, this thing is a beast. I've only overclocked that i5 it to 4.4GHz, but I could go further (the Xigmatek cooler is quite impressive). That videocard overclocks like a champ, too...I keep it at 930MHz (when gaming), but it's stable at 970MHz as well. I left myself the option of throwing another one in under SLI in the future, when games really start to stress it.

    Three slow (5400rpm) hard drives in a software RAID5 (through the mobo chipset)...I need lots of space, because this thing also serves up media to my HTPC, which I will post another time. That HTPC also functions as a DVR, with a PCIe quad CableCard tuner, and at full bitrate those recordings are BIG. I don't want to bother re-encoding them (and for many channels, including premiums like HBO, you can't), so I just stack 'em up...almost 1TB at the moment.

    Astro A40 system, in BXR Green, because I have more money than sense.

    Overall, aside from the case and the parts beginning with "some shitty" (DVD drive, speakers), there's really nothing in this build that I'm not quite happy with.

    Oh, and I realize my desk has a fucking mess of wires under it (and behind the monitors)...at some point, I stopped caring. I do like the desk lamp behind the main monitor, though, for soft backlighting. Classy.


    More Computer Porn:
    The Guts
    More Guts
    Cable (mis)Management
    Yup, That's a Computer

    Alecthar on
  • AlectharAlecthar Alan Shore We're not territorial about that sort of thing, are we?Registered User regular
    edited August 2011
    The New Haircut by finalflight89
    Before:
    imgp2210.jpg

    After:
    imgp2257u.jpgimgp2235h.jpg

    System Specs
    Intel Core i5-750 LGA 1156 Overclocked @ 3.2 GHz
    Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus CPU Cooler- Running with two fans
    ASUS P7P55 LX LGA 1156 Intel P55 ATX Intel Motherboard
    XFX Radeon HD 5770 1GB - Stock cooler replaced with Arctic Cooling Accelero L2 Pro VGA Cooler
    G.SKILL Ripjaws 4 x 2GB DDR3 1600 RAM
    Antec Earthwatts EA500 500W Power Supply - Painted white
    Samsung SH-B083L/RSBP Internal SATA 8x Blu-ray Drive / 16x DVD Burner
    1 x Intel X25-M SATA 120 GB Solid State Drive
    3 x Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0 Gb/s Hard Disk Drives - Running in RAID 5
    Linksys Wireless-G PCI card
    Corsair 600T White Special Edition Case

    Comments:
    I originally built this rig back in April 2010, and it's still going strong. However, thanks to this thread, I stumbled upon the White 600T, the most beautiful looking case I'd ever seen. One hundred and seventy something dollars and a few hours later, I've got this beauty on my hands. Cable management between the two cases is incomparable. Any enthusiast should get a case with competent cable management, and this one is the best I've seen.

    I wanted to put a little something extra into this transfer, so I decided to paint my power supply white to contrast against the black interior. It went relatively smoothly, besides the annoyance of having to disassemble and reassemble it. After doing so, I tested the power supply with my multimeter to make sure nothing was shorting. I think it looks pretty cool.

    During disassembly of my computer, I decided to reapply the thermal paste on my CPU and GPU heatsinks. The CPU heatsink went on and off easily, but I broke the stock cooler on my ATI 5770. There were small plastic tubes connecting the heatsink to the plastic cover, and those broke off. I quick researched an aftermarket cooler for a reference 5770, and found one. Thankfully, Newegg packages always get to me the next day using their 3-day UPS option. Now my GPU temps are much lower than before. One downside is that the hot air isn't expelled by the cooler from the case, but the 600T's airflow more than makes up for that. Running all of the fans in the case on low using the built-in fan controller only increases CPU and GPU temps by about 2 degrees Celsius.

    I use an SSD for my boot drive, and three 1 TB hard drives in a RAID5 for all of my data/music/games. Windows boots in a flash, and applications start instantly. I got this back in June 2010 and haven't looked back since. The Intel SSD I purchased also came with a version of Acronis Disk Imaging software, so all I had to do was click a button and transfer my old boot drive to my new one. After using an SSD for my boot drive, every other computer feels so slow in comparison. In my opinion, it's a required upgrade, and they're getting so cheap now! Just pair it with a regular hard disk and you're good to go. I only have the RAID5 so that everything is "backed up" (I have other backups as well).

    All the Pics and Nothing but the Pics
    Before the Transformation
    Before the Transformation #2
    Old Cable Management
    The 600T is freaking huge
    Everything Transferred over
    Side View
    All of the cables in the back
    CPU Cooler
    5770 Replacement cooler
    Painted power supply
    Drive Cages
    With the side panel on

    I Bought it at Ikea by emp123
    10040702_1c609e56e0.jpg

    System Specs:
    CPU: i7 2600k
    Mobo: Asus Z68-v Pro
    GPU: Evga GTX 570 SC
    Hard Drive: Samsung Spinpoint 1TB
    RAM: Corsair Vengeance 8GB DDR3 1600
    CPU Cooler: Corsair H70 with Gentle Typhoons
    Case: Fractal Design Define R3
    PSU: Corsair AX850
    Fans: 3 Scythe Slipstreams, 2 Fractal Design case fans all 120mm
    Fan Controller: NZXT touch screen thing

    Total Cost: ~1300

    Heres a shot of everything in it. I should probably take another one to give you guys a better idea of my cable management, but Im not exactly proud of it so maybe its for the best that I dont.
    10040704_f467a93fa4.jpg

    And heres a blurry shot of the rats nest I made for myself in the back of the case.
    10040705_d000bdaf87.jpg

    Alecthar on
  • Flippy_DFlippy_D Digital Conquistador LondonRegistered User regular
    edited June 2011
    More like reserved for expansion card.

    Yeah. 8-)

    Flippy_D on
    p8fnsZD.png
  • TychoCelchuuuTychoCelchuuu PIGEON Registered User regular
    edited June 2011
    My plan for the next few months is to resist building a new computer until I find out if my Core 2 Duo can handle Battlefield 3.

    TychoCelchuuu on
  • Donovan PuppyfuckerDonovan Puppyfucker A dagger in the dark is worth a thousand swords in the morningRegistered User regular
    edited June 2011
    My plan for the next few months is to resist building a new computer until I find out if my Core 2 Duo can handle Battlefield 3.

    Probably. But not as nice as you'd like it to...

    Donovan Puppyfucker on
  • krylon666krylon666 Registered User regular
    edited June 2011
    I finally got around to swapping my new PC stuff into my new case (corsair 600t white). Everything went pretty smooth except I was getting a "USB over current status detected" when I started it up. Unplugging the front panel USB wires seemed to fix the problem (a problem I didn't have in my old case). I was able to connect one of the cables, but the other one causes the problem. Anyone else have this problem?

    It could be a short somewhere in the connector I guess. It's hard to see under the actual usb ports to tell if anything looks messed up there.

    edit: my mobo is the ASUS P8P67Pro rev3, psu thermaltake toughpower 700w modular

    krylon666 on
  • Flippy_DFlippy_D Digital Conquistador LondonRegistered User regular
    edited June 2011
    Also, add www.scan.co.uk and www.overclockers.co.uk for UK options to that OP. Scan in particular are hard to beat on price and OCs have great deals and good expertise/reviews.

    And now, my rig as it currently stands:
    IMG_2473.jpg

    IMG_2477.jpg

    That's:
    • Antect Sonata III
    • Intel quad core (sandy bridge) i5 2500k unlocked with an Akasa freedom tower cooler
    • DP67BG motherboard
    • Tagan 600W PSU
    • 8GB Corsair DDR3 1600MHz XMS RAM
    • 240GB Sata II OCZ Vertex 2 (+ x2 140 Sata II HDDs)
    • Creative SoundBlaster X-Fi
    • Razer Copperhead
    • Logitech 2:1 Z3 speakers
    • Decorative headcrab
    • XFX 8800 GTX - soon to be an MSI GeForce GTX 580 Twin Frozr II OC

    Flippy_D on
    p8fnsZD.png
  • IoloIolo iolo Registered User regular
    edited June 2011
    Yay new thread.

    What happened to that good case for each price point chart that was in the last OP (at least at some point)? I thought that thing was pretty handy.

    Iolo on
    Lt. Iolo's First Day
    Steam profile.
    Getting started with BATTLETECH: Part 1 / Part 2
  • Vi MonksVi Monks Registered User regular
    edited June 2011
    New computer build, v2.0, after considering feedback from you fine gentlemen.

    Case: Joining the 600T club
    CPU: i7 2600K
    CPU cooling: Turniq 120
    Mobo: MSI P67A GD65
    GPU: EVGA Superclocked GTX 580
    RAM: Corsair XMS 8GB (2x 4GB)
    PSU: Corsair TX850 V2

    Thoughts? I went with the P67 chipset on the motherboard, as the extra features on the Z68 didn't seem worth the slightly higher price to me. From what I can tell, the P67 will handle some moderate overclocking relatively easily, but correct me if I'm wrong. Is the 850W PSU overkill? Keep in mind that I might want to add another 580 at some point down the line, so I'd like to have a PSU that can support that. How about the Turniq CPU cooler? It reviewed very well, but are there any issues with it that might sneak up on me? Does anyone know how easy it is to install? Mounting the CPU fan still scares the crap out of me.

    Edit: also considering a Megahalems CPU cooler, if that would be a better option.

    Vi Monks on
  • Flippy_DFlippy_D Digital Conquistador LondonRegistered User regular
    edited June 2011
    Iolo wrote: »
    Yay new thread.

    What happened to that good case for each price point chart that was in the last OP (at least at some point)? I thought that thing was pretty handy.

    Tom's Hardware is a good place to start. It has performance charts and this thread. It's worth remembering that the chart shouldn't be relied on 100% as the way cards that are ranked similarly now will scale dramatically as new graphical features emerge. For instance, the 570GTX Frozr almost matches the 580GTX Phantom, but the latter will scale much better in the future. The 3DMark results (and other similar benchmarks) will give you a better idea of that. However, it's broadly accurate.

    And whatever card you think about getting, always try to find a review for it first as it will be benchmarked against its rivals.

    Flippy_D on
    p8fnsZD.png
  • Foolish ChaosFoolish Chaos Registered User regular
    edited June 2011
    Is 57 Celsius too high for just web browsing and such, for the gpu? It doesn't seem to go over 80 when playing a game, but 57 seems pretty damn high just for web browsing. This is on a 6870.

    I think some part of my build is fucking up right now. Last night my computer lost connection to my monitor while I was playing new vegas, and I had to manually restart. This always happens when I play farcray 2, but that used to be the only game where this occurred.

    Foolish Chaos on
  • kevindeekevindee Registered User regular
    edited June 2011
    Whelp, the rig's finished. I managed not to completely mess up the cable management, although the back of the case is D:-worthy. I should post some pictures soon, but so far all I have is a shitty phone shot:

    247h.jpg

    kevindee on
  • emp123emp123 Registered User regular
    edited June 2011
    My plan for the next few months is to resist building a new computer until I find out if my Core 2 Duo can handle Battlefield 3.

    Youre Core 2 Duo will definitely be able to run it, but the real question is whether it will be able to make the game stir your nether regions, which it probably wont.


    EDIT: How terrible should I feel by being tempted by the 600T, not because I like the case (I do, Im just not sure its worth the price premium over the Define R3), but because Im already going to use a Corsair power supply, Corsair RAM, a Corsair water cooler, and should they get their shit fixed a Corsair SSD?

    emp123 on
  • Lord YodLord Yod Registered User regular
    edited June 2011
    Do we talk about overclocking in here?

    CPU: AMD Phenom II X4 945e @ 3.0ghz
    Mobo: Asus M4A78T-E

    I'm gonna be buying a new graphics card at some point here but I don't want to replace these yet. I'd like to clock this thing up a bit but I only have the stock cooler. What should I upgrade to? Not looking for anything extreme.

    Lord Yod on
    steam_sig.png
  • TurambarTurambar Independent Registered User regular
    edited June 2011
    Hello thread
    I was wondering if it's completely necessary to get a new cooler when buying an i5-2500, or if the stock is adequate

    Turambar on
    Steam: turamb | Origin: Turamb | 3DS: 3411-1109-4537 | NNID: Turambar | Warframe(PC): Turamb
  • krylon666krylon666 Registered User regular
    edited June 2011
    I used the stock i7-2600k cooler for a couple weeks and it was actually pretty damn good - but my case is very cool on its own, so I'm sure that helped. I did just upgrade to the CM Hyper 212+ (upgraded the fan too) cause I'd like to try some OCing. Changed my case as well, now that I think about it.

    I think my CM stacker may have been a little cooler and quieter than the Corsair 600t - but I really love the HD bays and wire management on this guy. A shame one of my front USB ports/cables is faulty though.

    krylon666 on
  • mcdermottmcdermott Registered User regular
    edited June 2011
    My plan for the next few months is to resist building a new computer until I find out if my Core 2 Duo can handle Battlefield 3.

    Man, my c2d could barely handle bfbc2. Too many physics effects. Bf3 may use physx, but they'll probably boost cpu usage elsewhere.

    Hell, even my c2q was bottlenecking me a bit on bc2... Not often, but still.

    mcdermott on
  • mcdermottmcdermott Registered User regular
    edited June 2011
    Turambar wrote: »
    Hello thread
    I was wondering if it's completely necessary to get a new cooler when buying an i5-2500, or if the stock is adequate

    It's garbage. Any $20 or $30th cooler I worth it as an upgrade. Also, get the 2500k... Overclocking I stupid easy now. But the stock 2500 cooler barely keeps up at stock clocks.

    mcdermott on
  • ShadowofVTShadowofVT Robot Overlord Boston, MARegistered User regular
    edited June 2011
    Long story short, my graphics card died and is getting RMA'ed right now. So while I'm without my puter games, I'm looking into doing my first build. I'm a nice combination of excited and nervous.

    I have some basic computer knowledge, but I've never done something to this level before. I've spent the last two or three days trying to get educated (thanks PA thread!) and doing my first component selection. I'm looking to make a system that's pretty solid, but also leaves room for future upgrades in the next few years. Here's what I've come up with (in the order that I selected them):

    CPU : Intel Core i5-2500K
    Mobo : ASRock P67 EXTREME4 (B3)
    RAM : CORSAIR XMS3 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM
    PSU : CORSAIR Enthusiast Series TX750 750W ATX12V v2.31
    Case : COOLER MASTER HAF ATX Full Tower
    HD : SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5
    Optical : Sony Optiarc CD/DVD Burner Black SATA
    OS : Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium

    Some comments on my selections:

    - As much as I'm drooling over the i7 processors, I think I'd get the most value for my money going with an i5 right now. And if I really want to upgrade in the near future, the motherboard supports it.

    -I know the full tower is pretty large, but space isn't really a problem for me. There's a HAF mid-ATX tower that's cheaper, but will it fit everything else I want to add? I was really focused on cooling as my #1 criteria for a case, which is why I really liked the HAF series and the larger case. Otherwise I really did like everything about the flavor of the week Corsair 650T, except for there were some reviews saying it can get a little hot.

    -You'll notice there's no graphics card. That's because I plan on using whatever EVGA sends back for my RMA'ed GeForce 8800 GTS. I know that's an older card, and probably the bottleneck in this system, but I wanted to see how it goes. Should I just say screw it and also get a second generation card right now (something like a GeForce 450, which is around $100-$125)?

    -I've read conflicting things about whether or not I can legally get an OEM Windows version if I'm building my own machine for personal use. Anyone know anything about that?

    -I haven't found a lot of information on sound cards. How much of a difference do they really make? Is it worth the money if I'm not planning on doing any sort of fancy audio tasks like editing?

    Thoughts? Everything listed above comes in at almost exactly $1000, which was what I was shooting for. If it increases another hundred or so for a graphics card or some other changes, it won't be the end of the world.

    ShadowofVT on
  • initiatefailureinitiatefailure Registered User regular
    edited June 2011
    I have swayed a housemate to the way of the 600t. His white stormtrooper is being mailed here as I speak. I then showed him some forumers cable management pics of their cases.

    I have made a grown man weep...


    ... figuratively

    initiatefailure on
  • TamTam Registered User regular
    edited June 2011
    what's the opinion on this antec PSU

    Tam on
  • The Dude With HerpesThe Dude With Herpes Lehi, UTRegistered User regular
    edited June 2011
    I have swayed a housemate to the way of the 600t. His white stormtrooper is being mailed here as I speak. I then showed him some forumers cable management pics of their cases.

    I have made a grown man weep...


    ... figuratively

    The sheer beauty of a case that clean and organized can bring even the most hardened to wet their eyes.

    When/if I finally get the money in the fall/winter to build my "dream" PC, I will be buying 2 600t's; one for my new pc and one to house my old PC in.

    The Dude With Herpes on
    Steam: Galedrid - XBL: Galedrid - PSN: Galedrid
    Origin: Galedrid - Nintendo: Galedrid/3222-6858-1045
    Blizzard: Galedrid#1367 - FFXIV: Galedrid Kingshand

  • AlectharAlecthar Alan Shore We're not territorial about that sort of thing, are we?Registered User regular
    edited June 2011
    Tam wrote: »
    what's the opinion on this antec PSU

    The Basiq supplies in general are pretty cruddy. If you're looking for around 500W, I'd go with this Antec Neo Eco. It's based on the Seasonic S12, so it's reliable (though not as efficient as some newer supplies) and will actually support more wattage on the 12v rail than the BP550. And it's cheaper.

    ShadowofVT: Your build looks just fine. A nice mid-tower will support virtually any system based on an ATX motherboard, but overall your reasoning on the full tower is sound, so I won't try to convince you to go with something else.

    As for your GPU, the 8800GTX was a really fantastic card in its day, and frankly something on the low-end of the current generation (like the GTS 450 or the Radeon 5770) would likely not be a significant upgrade for you. If you wanted a new card, I would budget at least 150-175 dollars to that effort. But I wouldn't spend any money until you find out what you're getting back from EVGA.

    OEM Windows is technically for computers for re-sale, but Microsoft really doesn't seem to care about personal use. I wouldn't worry about it, really. Also, I know nothing about sound cards, but I'm not really an audiophile, so I doubt I could tell the difference.

    Lord Yod: How much are you looking to spend on a heatsink? The Scythe Mugen 3 and CM Hyper 212+ are both solid budgetish options. Also, you have a very nice AM3 board, so feel free to crank your CPU up to 11 if you wish.

    Alecthar on
  • VALVEjunkieVALVEjunkie Registered User regular
    edited June 2011
    hooray new thread!

    VALVEjunkie on
  • DhalphirDhalphir don't you open that trapdoor you're a fool if you dareRegistered User regular
    edited June 2011
    so i'm about to finally order my system

    any last advice before i press the button?

    Intel Core i5 2600K LGA1155 CPU
    Asus P8P67-PRO B3 P67 LGA1155
    8Gb DDR3 1600Mhz G.Skill 2X4Gb
    Gigabyte GTX560 1Gb OC DDR5
    CoolerMaster CM 690 II Advance
    Antec True Power 3.0 550W ATX

    Dhalphir on
  • IoloIolo iolo Registered User regular
    edited June 2011
    Flippy_D wrote: »
    Iolo wrote: »
    Yay new thread.

    What happened to that good case for each price point chart that was in the last OP (at least at some point)? I thought that thing was pretty handy.

    Tom's Hardware is a good place to start. It has performance charts and this thread. It's worth remembering that the chart shouldn't be relied on 100% as the way cards that are ranked similarly now will scale dramatically as new graphical features emerge. For instance, the 570GTX Frozr almost matches the 580GTX Phantom, but the latter will scale much better in the future. The 3DMark results (and other similar benchmarks) will give you a better idea of that. However, it's broadly accurate.

    And whatever card you think about getting, always try to find a review for it first as it will be benchmarked against its rivals.

    Case, not card. Alecthar had done a little guide with dollar amounts and a corresponding recommended case for each budget level (and when available which forumers had actually built using the case.)

    Iolo on
    Lt. Iolo's First Day
    Steam profile.
    Getting started with BATTLETECH: Part 1 / Part 2
  • AlectharAlecthar Alan Shore We're not territorial about that sort of thing, are we?Registered User regular
    edited June 2011
    Dhalphir wrote: »
    so i'm about to finally order my system

    any last advice before i press the button?

    Intel Core i5 2600K LGA1155 CPU
    Asus P8P67-PRO B3 P67 LGA1155
    8Gb DDR3 1600Mhz G.Skill 2X4Gb
    Gigabyte GTX560 1Gb OC DDR5
    CoolerMaster CM 690 II Advance
    Antec True Power 3.0 550W ATX

    If that's a True Power New PSU, it's fine, if it's a True Power Trio then it's still okay, but you could do better.

    Maybe you could compile a quick list of the available PSUs that fit your budget that you can get from the place you're going to, we can then choose the best quality option.

    Alecthar on
  • DhalphirDhalphir don't you open that trapdoor you're a fool if you dareRegistered User regular
    edited June 2011
    at a guess the 3.0 would mean trio

    there were no other PSU's available from the place i'm going to at the 500-650w mark besides Coolermasters and this particular Antec...stock issues from Corsair, apparently.

    Dhalphir on
  • AlectharAlecthar Alan Shore We're not territorial about that sort of thing, are we?Registered User regular
    edited June 2011
    Iolo wrote: »
    Flippy_D wrote: »
    Iolo wrote: »
    Yay new thread.

    What happened to that good case for each price point chart that was in the last OP (at least at some point)? I thought that thing was pretty handy.

    Tom's Hardware is a good place to start. It has performance charts and this thread. It's worth remembering that the chart shouldn't be relied on 100% as the way cards that are ranked similarly now will scale dramatically as new graphical features emerge. For instance, the 570GTX Frozr almost matches the 580GTX Phantom, but the latter will scale much better in the future. The 3DMark results (and other similar benchmarks) will give you a better idea of that. However, it's broadly accurate.

    And whatever card you think about getting, always try to find a review for it first as it will be benchmarked against its rivals.

    Case, not card. Alecthar had done a little guide with dollar amounts and a corresponding recommended case for each budget level (and when available which forumers had actually built using the case.)

    I'm actually doing a whole big component guide type deal, but I have the Cases and PSUs section saved, so I'll put that up first. I'm actually fixing some stuff on it right now before it goes back up.

    Alecthar on
  • AlectharAlecthar Alan Shore We're not territorial about that sort of thing, are we?Registered User regular
    edited June 2011
    Dhalphir wrote: »
    at a guess the 3.0 would mean trio

    there were no other PSU's available from the place i'm going to at the 500-650w mark besides Coolermasters and this particular Antec...stock issues from Corsair, apparently.

    Well, it's a better bet than the Cooler Master, that's for sure. It's not a bad PSU, it's just not as good as some of the newer stuff. Regardless, I'd go with what you listed above.

    Alecthar on
  • ShadowofVTShadowofVT Robot Overlord Boston, MARegistered User regular
    edited June 2011
    Alecthar wrote: »

    ShadowofVT: Your build looks just fine. A nice mid-tower will support virtually any system based on an ATX motherboard, but overall your reasoning on the full tower is sound, so I won't try to convince you to go with something else.

    As for your GPU, the 8800GTX was a really fantastic card in its day, and frankly something on the low-end of the current generation (like the GTS 450 or the Radeon 5770) would likely not be a significant upgrade for you. If you wanted a new card, I would budget at least 150-175 dollars to that effort. But I wouldn't spend any money until you find out what you're getting back from EVGA.

    OEM Windows is technically for computers for re-sale, but Microsoft really doesn't seem to care about personal use. I wouldn't worry about it, really. Also, I know nothing about sound cards, but I'm not really an audiophile, so I doubt I could tell the difference.

    Thanks for the feedback Alecthar. Your comments pretty much mirrored my thoughts exactly, especially with the video card. Unless I hear that I'm violating the Windows TOS for the OEM package, I'll go with that and save myself $100 or so.

    I'll probably start looking for the best prices and deal on those components at various website in the next week or so. If they send me a card that can't be used in my current computer though (if it's a 2-wide slot, it won't fit), I'll probably pull the trigger on everything pretty quickly.

    ShadowofVT on
  • FairchildFairchild Rabbit used short words that were easy to understand, like "Hello Pooh, how about Lunch ?" Registered User regular
    edited June 2011
    Not really a build question, but has Falcon NW been living up to its reputation as a good competitor to Alienware ?

    Fairchild on
  • NailbunnyPDNailbunnyPD Registered User regular
    edited June 2011
    I just built a new computer around the I7-2600k. I started with the stock HSF, but that thing was crap. It's been replaced with a Cooler Master Hyper 212+, which is clearly a very efficient cooler, but a pain in the ass to install.

    Now that I have a couple CPU temp monitors going, I am reading around 30 degrees on the fourth core, while the others read about 40 degrees. Is this typical to see such a large variation on one core? This variation is consistent in both Core Temp and Hardware Monitor.

    NailbunnyPD on
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  • TheCanManTheCanMan GT: Gasman122009 JerseyRegistered User regular
    edited June 2011
    So, if I had been told that I could put together a complete i5-2500k system for less than $700 in hardware (before tax) I probably would have laughed. But here it is.

    NZXT Beta Evo ($45)
    Core i5-2500k ($224)
    ASRock P67 PRO3 ($120)
    EVGA GTX 550 Ti ($130)
    Muskin Enhanced Silverline 2x2GB DDR1333 ($42)
    WD Caviar Blue 500GB WD5000AAKX ($45)
    OCZ ModXStream Pro 600W ($75)

    $690 including shipping (another $48 in tax).

    That'll give me a decent board (albiet with only a single PCIe x16 slot) with an i5-2500k. A GPU that should serve me quite well for a while at 1680x1050. And a modular PSU. I'm kinda stunned.

    TheCanMan on
  • krylon666krylon666 Registered User regular
    edited June 2011
    my cores are always a few degrees apart, same cpu

    krylon666 on
  • NailbunnyPDNailbunnyPD Registered User regular
    edited June 2011
    krylon666 wrote: »
    my cores are always a few degrees apart, same cpu

    A few or 10+? I did some googling and a few seems to be common, but 10 degrees seems like a large variation to me. And that fourth core fluctuates between 25-34, but probably closer to 25 more often than not.

    Everything seems to be fine, so I'm not terribly concerned. Performance is stellar, and even the higher temps are perfectly acceptable. It just seems very odd.

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  • krylon666krylon666 Registered User regular
    edited June 2011
    Mine are literally 1-3 degrees a part at all times. The cores seem to get rotated pretty evenly when playing games etc.

    krylon666 on
  • DjeetDjeet Registered User regular
    edited June 2011
    That seems kinda odd, but I've not done that kind of hardware testing so not sure how much it deviates from the norm. Could it be that the 4th core is idle during your testing? You could fire up Prime 95 which should max out multithreaded CPU load and take readings while that test is running.

    Djeet on
  • symbolsorsymbolsor Registered User regular
    edited June 2011
    I think I'm going to pull the trigger and get this PSU next time I have some cash, as per OP recommendations.

    Corsair AX 750
    http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139016

    Mostly looking for something quiet and reliable. Maybe SLI in the future. Any glaring flaws that I should know about?

    symbolsor on
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