AlectharAlan ShoreWe're not territorial about that sort of thing, are we?Registered Userregular
edited June 2011
AMD hasn't released their new enthusiast line yet. My recommendation would be for you to run on an Intel platform, you'll get significantly more bang for your buck. Also, I wouldn't buy the Antec 900. The design isn't up to par and it's way too expensive. If you're not interested in overclocking and 600 is your budget limit for this, I'd go with this combo. If you can stretch to accomodate something more expensive and you'd like to overclock, go with the 2500K and the ASRock P67 Extreme4. SLI/Crossfire capability is worth paying for either way.
I'd recommend this case, it's considerably better than the 900 and is significantly less expensive. Also, I think this PSU will serve you better overall than that Earthwatts. Most systems don't need more than 650W and it's overall a better supply, plus it's partially modular.
It's worth noting that, with the money you save on the PSU, you can go with the 2500K/P67 Extreme 4 option and only spend like 10ish dollars more than you were on your original list, and have a significantly more impressive system.
Thanks for the recommend Alec, I've never done amateur water cooling but I have heard a lot of good things about the H70.
Although I might end up waiting for the H80. The stock cooler looks like it cover's a lot more space with more control over the fan speeds.
I'm going with the H100 when it releases, pop that in up top.
Man, these Corsair water solutions isn't really impressing me. It seems like theThermalright Venomous X - RT outperforms it for so much less. The only disadvantage is it being damn tall, but that Corsair H100 is so freaking big....just where you gonna mount the radiator?
Since I've seen it mentioned in this thread a few times, I thought this might be useful information for the thread. Anyone coming in here looking to build something that will completely max out BF3 is probably on a fool's errand. Here's a review. In the comments section, the author states this in response to people asking about specs:
BF3 will make use of any current hardware you can throw at it. The faster the better.
I would aim for an AMD 6 core or i7 Quad or higher and an ATI68XX equivalent or higher and 4+ GB of memory. Obviously Win7
This game will scale to ~16 cores/HWthreads, it uses your GPU to help with physics and your CPU to help with lighting, and is 64bit to make use of more memory. It will make use of the best gaming rig you can throw at it.
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AlectharAlan ShoreWe're not territorial about that sort of thing, are we?Registered Userregular
Thanks for the recommend Alec, I've never done amateur water cooling but I have heard a lot of good things about the H70.
Although I might end up waiting for the H80. The stock cooler looks like it cover's a lot more space with more control over the fan speeds.
I'm going with the H100 when it releases, pop that in up top.
Man, these Corsair water solutions isn't really impressing me. It seems like theThermalright Venomous X - RT outperforms it for so much less. The only disadvantage is it being damn tall, but that Corsair H100 is so freaking big....just where you gonna mount the radiator?
Coolers like the Megahalems and Venomous X aren't just tall, they're effing huge (speaking as someone who owns a Megahalems), and they're heavy. If you like having side intake fans, they can get in the way, and you have to have a pretty wide case to mount one at all. And you have to be very careful about your RAM. I'd also be curious about the methodology and fan setup of the reviews, given that the Megahalems and 2 of the 3 versions of the Venomous X require you to provide your own fans.
Which isn't to say that you aren't right about performance, but to a certain extent the convenience, relatively quiet operation, and the really quite good performance mitigate the price. It might not do enough to recommend such a cooler over a high-end air cooler for some, but I like them overall.
Edit: Oh, and just like Belligerent says, a lot of cases with double 120mm fan slots up top can support a 240 rad. The CM 690 II, or the Corsair 600T (coincidentally, two cases I own!) for example.
I'm gonna go through this thread page by page when it's locked and track down people who haven't sent pics in.
I'll take some pics when i get home.
I still need to install the dvd burner and put the case panels back on. As soon as I got windows installed my mission was to get BC2 running as quickly as possible to test it out.
Thanks for the recommend Alec, I've never done amateur water cooling but I have heard a lot of good things about the H70.
Although I might end up waiting for the H80. The stock cooler looks like it cover's a lot more space with more control over the fan speeds.
I'm going with the H100 when it releases, pop that in up top.
God damn it, the H80 is just the H60 pump/block with the H70 radiator and dual fans isnt it. Maybe I can sell my H70...
It also links into the new Corsair Link system they're putting together.
Don't worry about it though.
I dont really care about the Corsair Link thing, I dont really need that much control over my system. But I think the H60 block is much better than the H70 block, plus the pump is quieter. But the H80 will probably retail for $120, and I got my H70 for $80 so...
I wonder what theyre aiming to price the H100 at. I kinda like the idea of a dual fan radiator setup...
I'm not interested in super-high clocks, but definitely not staying stock. Maybe 20% over stock. Don't want to spend much and I don't care how it looks :P
Alright so. I'm looking to uprgade my computer. Here are my specs
Vista Home basic 6.0
Processor: AMD Sempron LE-1300 2.3ghz
Memory: 2046mb RAM
Directx Version: Direct X 11
Video Card: NVIDIA GeForce 7300 GS
I already have a monitor, mouse, and keyboard. I'd like to future proof it if possible and be able to upgrade it later. I plan on using the computer for gaming, I'd like to be able to run most things on the highest settings. I'm not sure if that is possible on my budget which is $700 maximum.
My resolution is 1024x768.
I'm not interested in super-high clocks, but definitely not staying stock. Maybe 20% over stock. Don't want to spend much and I don't care how it looks :P
Cooler Master Hyper 212?
Xigmatek 1283 series?
I've heard things about the Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro, but I don't have one. I've got the Xigmatek (Dark Knight, which is just the basic 1283 nickel plated), and it works great. I helped a buddy install the Cooler Master, it was easy and it's quite effective. My cooler is on a rebate right now, $32 after rebate. Cooler Master has the Hyper N 520 on NewEgg right now at $30. Either of these would probably let you hit 4.5GHz or more.
AlectharAlan ShoreWe're not territorial about that sort of thing, are we?Registered Userregular
edited June 2011
The below is the XSPC 240 RS Rasa kit in a Corsair 650D (along with a 200mm rad, but that's not important). Basically the H100 is the same style rad (120mm wide x 240mm long) but the rad incorporates the reservoir and the CPU block incorporates the pump. Well, and it's not as good. Not that it's bad. It's just not as good as a custom setup. Regardless, the radiator and fan positioning up top is inidicative of the internal mounting position of 240 rads in most stock cases. Though some (like the 690 II) also have mounts at the bottom for them.
If the H100 is $120, might as go for the Rasa at $130.
The cost of the Rasa doesn't account for liquid (distilled water isn't really that expensive, but it is an additional cost), a silver kill coil or biocide, good thermal paste, tubing (because the stuff that comes with the kit isn't great) and compression fittings (because they look sexier than barbs + clamps and that's just how I roll).
Not to mention the amount of difficulty involved in installation by comparison to the H100. Not that I'm trying to dissuade anyone (or myself, for that matter) but a custom loop involves some work.
Yeah. The potential for leaks scares me and the need to clean it offends my laziness.
Good quality components and thorough leak testing are your friends, and as long as you're using distilled water with something to kill the little creepy crawlies, you can avoid cleaning your loop for quite a while at a time.
Thinking of getting the i5-2500k but I can't decide on a motherboard. I wont be doing any overclocking anytime soon because I don't feel like also upgrading my cooling/power, nor am I going to do any SLI stuff and I only have 2 harddrives. However I'd like to future proof my motherboard in case I do want to overclock in a year or two so I'm thinking of either a Z68 or a P67 motherboard. However, which one do I get? There are so many out there
I'm not interested in super-high clocks, but definitely not staying stock. Maybe 20% over stock. Don't want to spend much and I don't care how it looks :P
The CoolerMaster Hyper 212+ was basically the universally recommended cooler for a while. And it's still highly recommended. Although Tom's Hardware actually did a couple of HSF articles that showed the Xigmatek Gaia is just as good (if not ever so slightly better), and just as a bonus it's $10 cheaper than the Hyper 212+.
What's your budget for the MoBo? Our resident font of knowledge, Alecthar, has been pimping the ASRock Extreme4 boards (P67 & Z68) and the ASUS PRO (P8P67 PRO & P8Z68-V PRO).
Before you make any decision on those boards, I'd wait for Alec to confirm those are in fact the correct models (although I'm pretty sure they are).
Cheaper variants are less feature-rich. They may have fewer RAM slots if they're Micro-ATX, less expansion slots (PCI-E, PCI, etc), fewer VRM modules (which makes voltage regulation messy, and reduces the stability/ability to overclock, or not including gigabit ethernet.
Some boards will run PCI-E x16 slots as only 4x, which isn't optimal for Crossfire/SLI.
OEMs will also include other features on higher end boards, such as add-in cards for sound, NICS, etc, as well as tools for overclocking.
I'm not interested in super-high clocks, but definitely not staying stock. Maybe 20% over stock. Don't want to spend much and I don't care how it looks :P
The CoolerMaster Hyper 212+ was basically the universally recommended cooler for a while. And it's still highly recommended. Although Tom's Hardware actually did a couple of HSF articles that showed the Xigmatek Gaia is just as good (if not ever so slightly better), and just as a bonus it's $10 cheaper than the Hyper 212+.
What's your budget for the MoBo? Our resident font of knowledge, Alecthar, has been pimping the ASRock Extreme4 boards (P67 & Z68) and the ASUS PRO (P8P67 PRO & P8Z68-V PRO).
Before you make any decision on those boards, I'd wait for Alec to confirm those are in fact the correct models (although I'm pretty sure they are).
Thanks! I was browsing newegg and saw the Xigmateks, remembered hearing good stuff about them, was a bit wary of the $30 price tag, but results speak for themselves, so I think I'll get that one.
Ok, so all the personal stuff that's been keeping my proposed new build in limbo has been worked out. Not quite as well as were were hoping for, but pretty good. But this has cut my $1k budget down to $800. I've pieced together the following, but I'm right at my budget limit and still don't have a GPU.
Please help me trim enough fat from this build to squeeze in a decent GPU for 1680x1050 gaming.
I'm guessing the two prime candidates for a downgrade are the MoBo and PSU. I'd really hate to lose modularity on the PSU, but I guess that's probably going to have to happen. And there are a ton of combo deals for the i5 and a mobo. There's one with an ASUS P8P67-M PRO that would save me $30, but I'm worried about using an mATX board. There's also a ton of combos with MSI and Gigabyte boards. But I don't want to gimp myself later when I upgrade the a second GPU and upgrade the HSF and OC the 2500k.
Ok, so all the personal stuff that's been keeping my proposed new build in limbo has been worked out. Not quite as well as were were hoping for, but pretty good. But this has cut my $1k budget down to $800. I've pieced together the following, but I'm right at my budget limit and still don't have a GPU.
Please help me trim enough fat from this build to squeeze in a decent GPU for 1680x1050 gaming.
I'm guessing the two prime candidates for a downgrade are the MoBo and PSU. I'd really hate to lose modularity on the PSU, but I guess that's probably going to have to happen. And there are a ton of combo deals for the i5 and a mobo. There's one with an ASUS P8P67-M PRO that would save me $30, but I'm worried about using an mATX board. There's also a ton of combos with MSI and Gigabyte boards. But I don't want to gimp myself later when I upgrade the a second GPU and upgrade the HSF and OC the 2500k.
I wouldn't go with the Pro-M, the smaller size makes the layout less than ideal. As for MSI and Gigabyte boards, on the Gigabyte side this is the best compromise between low cost and SLI/OC-ability I could find. It's not as robust as the ASRock board, but as long as you aren't trying to rock anything crazy on your 2500K, it should hold up. Also keep in mind that there are very few Gigabyte boards that include the GPU virtualization tech that enables switchable graphics, and that isn't one of them. Still cheaper than P67 boards, though.
Honestly, though, with the build you're looking at, stuffing a GPU in there is really tough. You might be better off going with the ASRock Z68 board and running on the IGPU until you can afford a graphics card. Not ideal, obviously, but maybe your best option.
I wouldn't go with the Pro-M, the smaller size makes the layout less than ideal. As for MSI and Gigabyte boards, on the Gigabyte side this is the best compromise between low cost and SLI/OC-ability I could find. It's not as robust as the ASRock board, but as long as you aren't trying to rock anything crazy on your 2500K, it should hold up. Also keep in mind that there are very few Gigabyte boards that include the GPU virtualization tech that enables switchable graphics, and that isn't one of them. Still cheaper than P67 boards, though.
Honestly, though, with the build you're looking at, stuffing a GPU in there is really tough. You might be better off going with the ASRock Z68 board and running on the IGPU until you can afford a graphics card. Not ideal, obviously, but maybe your best option.
Yeah, I'm really not worried about the SSD caching or video transcoding stuff on the Z68. And I'm definitely not going to go crazy on the OC (I've never done any OCing before, so there's no way I'm going to be comfortable pushing it too hard). It sucks that there's like 5 or 6 Gigabyte combos with the 2500k, but that board isn't one of them. And with shipping it's really not even saving me $10 over the ASRock board.
There's a combo with the 2500k and Corsair CX600. I know it's not really 600W (atleast I'm pretty sure this is the Corsair line I'm thinking of), but the combo is for -$20, which means I'd basically be getting it for $50. And for that price, I think I'd be alright.
I think I'll drop down to an OEM Win 7, too. Then I can fit this ASUS HD5770.
That puts me at $857.35 with potentially $40 in MIRs ($20 each for the GPU and PSU).
How that sound???
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AlectharAlan ShoreWe're not territorial about that sort of thing, are we?Registered Userregular
edited June 2011
That sounds fine, the CX600 shares a 12V wattage with quality 520W supplies, but it's still a solid (if overrated) supply.
Also, all of the MSI boards you'd be looking at (GD53-GD65, I assume) are not as well built or laid out as the ASRock Extreme4, but are roughly equal in quality to that Gigabyte board, just with the oft-mentioned stupid layout of MSI P67 boards.
That sounds fine, the CX600 shares a 12V wattage with quality 520W supplies, but it's still a solid (if overrated) supply.
Also, all of the MSI boards you'd be looking at (GD53-GD65, I assume) are not as well built or laid out as the ASRock Extreme4, but are roughly equal in quality to that Gigabyte board, just with the oft-mentioned stupid layout of MSI P67 boards.
Would an (effectively) 520W PSU handle a decent 2500k OC and dual 5770s?
Yeah. The potential for leaks scares me and the need to clean it offends my laziness.
Good quality components and thorough leak testing are your friends, and as long as you're using distilled water with something to kill the little creepy crawlies, you can avoid cleaning your loop for quite a while at a time.
Sometimes I go months without dusting out my case...Ive also never reapplied thermal paste, although I probably should.
Casually HardcoreOnce an Asshole. Trying to be better.Registered Userregular
edited June 2011
Can someone school me in RAID?
My buddy suggest that I can just raid 5 two 64-90ish GB SSD drives with a 1TB (or bigger) storage drive. He say he isn't 100% sure this is possible, but it may give me the performance and reliability I want.
So, any thoughts on this idea?
Argh, this 'upgrade' is getting expensive. I'm pretty much a PS and a Optical away from a whole new tower.
Posts
I'd recommend this case, it's considerably better than the 900 and is significantly less expensive. Also, I think this PSU will serve you better overall than that Earthwatts. Most systems don't need more than 650W and it's overall a better supply, plus it's partially modular.
It's worth noting that, with the money you save on the PSU, you can go with the 2500K/P67 Extreme 4 option and only spend like 10ish dollars more than you were on your original list, and have a significantly more impressive system.
Battle.net
I'm going with the H100 when it releases, pop that in up top.
Battle.net
Man, these Corsair water solutions isn't really impressing me. It seems like theThermalright Venomous X - RT outperforms it for so much less. The only disadvantage is it being damn tall, but that Corsair H100 is so freaking big....just where you gonna mount the radiator?
Coolers like the Megahalems and Venomous X aren't just tall, they're effing huge (speaking as someone who owns a Megahalems), and they're heavy. If you like having side intake fans, they can get in the way, and you have to have a pretty wide case to mount one at all. And you have to be very careful about your RAM. I'd also be curious about the methodology and fan setup of the reviews, given that the Megahalems and 2 of the 3 versions of the Venomous X require you to provide your own fans.
Which isn't to say that you aren't right about performance, but to a certain extent the convenience, relatively quiet operation, and the really quite good performance mitigate the price. It might not do enough to recommend such a cooler over a high-end air cooler for some, but I like them overall.
Edit: Oh, and just like Belligerent says, a lot of cases with double 120mm fan slots up top can support a 240 rad. The CM 690 II, or the Corsair 600T (coincidentally, two cases I own!) for example.
Battle.net
I haven't OC'd yet -- but I did have to go into my Overclock software to set the Ram to run at 1600 rather than 1333.
Last night I was playing Bad Company 2, full settings, full AA at 1080p smooth as butter.
Critical Failures - Havenhold Campaign • August St. Cloud (Human Ranger)
I'm gonna go through this thread page by page when it's locked and track down people who haven't sent pics in.
Battle.net
I'll take some pics when i get home.
I still need to install the dvd burner and put the case panels back on. As soon as I got windows installed my mission was to get BC2 running as quickly as possible to test it out.
Critical Failures - Havenhold Campaign • August St. Cloud (Human Ranger)
God damn it, the H80 is just the H60 pump/block with the H70 radiator and dual fans isnt it. Maybe I can sell my H70...
It also links into the new Corsair Link system they're putting together.
Don't worry about it though.
Battle.net
I dont really care about the Corsair Link thing, I dont really need that much control over my system. But I think the H60 block is much better than the H70 block, plus the pump is quieter. But the H80 will probably retail for $120, and I got my H70 for $80 so...
I wonder what theyre aiming to price the H100 at. I kinda like the idea of a dual fan radiator setup...
I'm not interested in super-high clocks, but definitely not staying stock. Maybe 20% over stock. Don't want to spend much and I don't care how it looks :P
Vista Home basic 6.0
Processor: AMD Sempron LE-1300 2.3ghz
Memory: 2046mb RAM
Directx Version: Direct X 11
Video Card: NVIDIA GeForce 7300 GS
I already have a monitor, mouse, and keyboard. I'd like to future proof it if possible and be able to upgrade it later. I plan on using the computer for gaming, I'd like to be able to run most things on the highest settings. I'm not sure if that is possible on my budget which is $700 maximum.
My resolution is 1024x768.
Thank you in advance.
Battle.net: Matt 3999 or iammattpleevee@gmail.com
PSN?: iammattpleevee
Many cases use top mounts. i.e. you screw it into the top of your case (on the outside usually, and then pass the cables through to the inside.
The h100 will most likely have to mounted inside, which isn't a problem for most of the high-end mid tower cases.
or you can do something stupid like this:
Cooler Master Hyper 212?
Xigmatek 1283 series?
I've heard things about the Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro, but I don't have one. I've got the Xigmatek (Dark Knight, which is just the basic 1283 nickel plated), and it works great. I helped a buddy install the Cooler Master, it was easy and it's quite effective. My cooler is on a rebate right now, $32 after rebate. Cooler Master has the Hyper N 520 on NewEgg right now at $30. Either of these would probably let you hit 4.5GHz or more.
What the I ugh uh
I've been considering the Rasa kit, actually.
Battle.net
The cost of the Rasa doesn't account for liquid (distilled water isn't really that expensive, but it is an additional cost), a silver kill coil or biocide, good thermal paste, tubing (because the stuff that comes with the kit isn't great) and compression fittings (because they look sexier than barbs + clamps and that's just how I roll).
Not to mention the amount of difficulty involved in installation by comparison to the H100. Not that I'm trying to dissuade anyone (or myself, for that matter) but a custom loop involves some work.
Battle.net
Good quality components and thorough leak testing are your friends, and as long as you're using distilled water with something to kill the little creepy crawlies, you can avoid cleaning your loop for quite a while at a time.
Battle.net
Thinking of getting the i5-2500k but I can't decide on a motherboard. I wont be doing any overclocking anytime soon because I don't feel like also upgrading my cooling/power, nor am I going to do any SLI stuff and I only have 2 harddrives. However I'd like to future proof my motherboard in case I do want to overclock in a year or two so I'm thinking of either a Z68 or a P67 motherboard. However, which one do I get? There are so many out there
The CoolerMaster Hyper 212+ was basically the universally recommended cooler for a while. And it's still highly recommended. Although Tom's Hardware actually did a couple of HSF articles that showed the Xigmatek Gaia is just as good (if not ever so slightly better), and just as a bonus it's $10 cheaper than the Hyper 212+.
What's your budget for the MoBo? Our resident font of knowledge, Alecthar, has been pimping the ASRock Extreme4 boards (P67 & Z68) and the ASUS PRO (P8P67 PRO & P8Z68-V PRO).
Before you make any decision on those boards, I'd wait for Alec to confirm those are in fact the correct models (although I'm pretty sure they are).
Some boards will run PCI-E x16 slots as only 4x, which isn't optimal for Crossfire/SLI.
OEMs will also include other features on higher end boards, such as add-in cards for sound, NICS, etc, as well as tools for overclocking.
Thanks! I was browsing newegg and saw the Xigmateks, remembered hearing good stuff about them, was a bit wary of the $30 price tag, but results speak for themselves, so I think I'll get that one.
Please help me trim enough fat from this build to squeeze in a decent GPU for 1680x1050 gaming.
NZXT Beta Evo ($51)
Core i5-2500k ($225)
ASRock Extreme4 P67 ($169)
Mushkin 2x2GB DDR1333 ($42)
XFX P1-650-CAH9 ($92)
WD Caviar Blue 500GB WD5000AAKX ($45)
Win7 Home Premium Upgrade ($115)
Tax = $52
I'm guessing the two prime candidates for a downgrade are the MoBo and PSU. I'd really hate to lose modularity on the PSU, but I guess that's probably going to have to happen. And there are a ton of combo deals for the i5 and a mobo. There's one with an ASUS P8P67-M PRO that would save me $30, but I'm worried about using an mATX board. There's also a ton of combos with MSI and Gigabyte boards. But I don't want to gimp myself later when I upgrade the a second GPU and upgrade the HSF and OC the 2500k.
http://blog.logitech.com/2011/06/09/introducing-the-logitech-optical-gaming-mouse-g400-2/
I wouldn't go with the Pro-M, the smaller size makes the layout less than ideal. As for MSI and Gigabyte boards, on the Gigabyte side this is the best compromise between low cost and SLI/OC-ability I could find. It's not as robust as the ASRock board, but as long as you aren't trying to rock anything crazy on your 2500K, it should hold up. Also keep in mind that there are very few Gigabyte boards that include the GPU virtualization tech that enables switchable graphics, and that isn't one of them. Still cheaper than P67 boards, though.
Honestly, though, with the build you're looking at, stuffing a GPU in there is really tough. You might be better off going with the ASRock Z68 board and running on the IGPU until you can afford a graphics card. Not ideal, obviously, but maybe your best option.
Battle.net
This makes me a happy nerd.
Yeah, I'm really not worried about the SSD caching or video transcoding stuff on the Z68. And I'm definitely not going to go crazy on the OC (I've never done any OCing before, so there's no way I'm going to be comfortable pushing it too hard). It sucks that there's like 5 or 6 Gigabyte combos with the 2500k, but that board isn't one of them. And with shipping it's really not even saving me $10 over the ASRock board.
There's a combo with the 2500k and Corsair CX600. I know it's not really 600W (atleast I'm pretty sure this is the Corsair line I'm thinking of), but the combo is for -$20, which means I'd basically be getting it for $50. And for that price, I think I'd be alright.
I think I'll drop down to an OEM Win 7, too. Then I can fit this ASUS HD5770.
That puts me at $857.35 with potentially $40 in MIRs ($20 each for the GPU and PSU).
How that sound???
Also, all of the MSI boards you'd be looking at (GD53-GD65, I assume) are not as well built or laid out as the ASRock Extreme4, but are roughly equal in quality to that Gigabyte board, just with the oft-mentioned stupid layout of MSI P67 boards.
Battle.net
Would an (effectively) 520W PSU handle a decent 2500k OC and dual 5770s?
Sometimes I go months without dusting out my case...Ive also never reapplied thermal paste, although I probably should.
My buddy suggest that I can just raid 5 two 64-90ish GB SSD drives with a 1TB (or bigger) storage drive. He say he isn't 100% sure this is possible, but it may give me the performance and reliability I want.
So, any thoughts on this idea?
Argh, this 'upgrade' is getting expensive. I'm pretty much a PS and a Optical away from a whole new tower.