Yeah 60c is really good. Like really, really good. Like my first thought is 'I wonder if he's getting accurate temp reading from the monitoring program he's using?' good
I've been thinking of upgrading my PC for a while now. And now that I'm actually looking at it there isn't much besides the PSU, GPU, and probably hard drive, I could salvage. Which is something but not when I went into it at "I'd like a new CPU. But I'll need a new motherboard... And I really don't like this case anymore. SSD's are cheaper than HD's now.. hmm. Oh. Uh. This RAM is DDR2 800, I should upgrade that while I'm at it. Oh god I'm at almost 800 dollars."
I'm going to evaluate my funds and watch my Newegg on Black Friday to see if any of it goes on a considerable sale.
I hate this thread. I'm largely a Mac guy these days, and was mostly looking to upgrade my old PC to usable condition, but now I'm looking into a full on gaming build. I don't have enough cash on hand to grab everything I'd need (motherboard has been absolutely dated, and my PSU was barely sufficient then, so the only thing to carry over is the case and hard drive), but I was wondering if I'd be getting ahead of myself is I started now by grabbing that Antec PSU and this SSD while Newegg has deals going. I know the PSU should be fine no matter when I get around to upgrading, but would I be better off setting my money aside for a couple of months and grabbing the SSD when I can complete the build? Or is that price point worth jumping on now? Thanks!
I hate this thread. I'm largely a Mac guy these days, and was mostly looking to upgrade my old PC to usable condition, but now I'm looking into a full on gaming build. I don't have enough cash on hand to grab everything I'd need (motherboard has been absolutely dated, and my PSU was barely sufficient then, so the only thing to carry over is the case and hard drive), but I was wondering if I'd be getting ahead of myself is I started now by grabbing that Antec PSU and this SSD while Newegg has deals going. I know the PSU should be fine no matter when I get around to upgrading, but would I be better off setting my money aside for a couple of months and grabbing the SSD when I can complete the build? Or is that price point worth jumping on now? Thanks!
That's a ridiculous price for the Neo Eco 520 (even in the off chance that the MIR doesn't come through). If you're going to be buying a new build any time soon, that's a price that's too good to pass up.
As for the SSD, that's a pretty great price, but I might still hold out for the Black Friday/Cyber Monday sales at the least. And if you're not building for a couple months the prices may still come down further buy then (although I have no knowledge of anything specific coming out that would do that, it's just a guess).
As for carrying over your case and HDD, depending on your budget you might want to look replacing them too. NZXT has some really relatively cheap cases with nice cable management cutouts that will really help your airflow. The Gamma, Source 210, and Beta Evo are all under $50. And depending on how old your HDD is, it may be an old IDE connection (the big flat ribbon cable). You'll definitely want a SATA drive.
hello computer thread
I need to build a computer for my parents and sister
General stuff: MS Office, browsing the net, connecting it to the TV to watch Netflix, etc.
Also, my dad will be reusing an older monitor, so I might need something to adapt to VGA
I would like to keep the parts solid at the lowest price
That's a ridiculous price for the Neo Eco 520 (even in the off chance that the MIR doesn't come through). If you're going to be buying a new build any time soon, that's a price that's too good to pass up.
As for the SSD, that's a pretty great price, but I might still hold out for the Black Friday/Cyber Monday sales at the least. And if you're not building for a couple months the prices may still come down further buy then (although I have no knowledge of anything specific coming out that would do that, it's just a guess).
As for carrying over your case and HDD, depending on your budget you might want to look replacing them too. NZXT has some really relatively cheap cases with nice cable management cutouts that will really help your airflow. The Gamma, Source 210, and Beta Evo are all under $50. And depending on how old your HDD is, it may be an old IDE connection (the big flat ribbon cable). You'll definitely want a SATA drive.
Really hate this thread. My full-size tower is a chunky cumbersome monster, and it's had enough ventilation problems that the extra 30-40 bucks is probably worth it. The Gamma looks really nice for the price too.
So, I bought the bullet on the power supply and the SSD. With the rebate and today's discount it's only 72.64 for 60 gigs, and I can't imagine anything beating that by enough to make me super regretful.
Thanks for the advice, and the SATA/IDE info, I hadn't even thought to check. Thankfully it's SATA 2, so it's not completely obsolete yet, though it's not huge by current standards (160 GB).
That's a ridiculous price for the Neo Eco 520 (even in the off chance that the MIR doesn't come through). If you're going to be buying a new build any time soon, that's a price that's too good to pass up.
As for the SSD, that's a pretty great price, but I might still hold out for the Black Friday/Cyber Monday sales at the least. And if you're not building for a couple months the prices may still come down further buy then (although I have no knowledge of anything specific coming out that would do that, it's just a guess).
As for carrying over your case and HDD, depending on your budget you might want to look replacing them too. NZXT has some really relatively cheap cases with nice cable management cutouts that will really help your airflow. The Gamma, Source 210, and Beta Evo are all under $50. And depending on how old your HDD is, it may be an old IDE connection (the big flat ribbon cable). You'll definitely want a SATA drive.
Really hate this thread. My full-size tower is a chunky cumbersome monster, and it's had enough ventilation problems that the extra 30-40 bucks is probably worth it. The Gamma looks really nice for the price too.
So, I bought the bullet on the power supply and the SSD. With the rebate and today's discount it's only 72.64 for 60 gigs, and I can't imagine anything beating that by enough to make me super regretful.
Thanks for the advice, and the SATA/IDE info, I hadn't even thought to check. Thankfully it's SATA 2, so it's not completely obsolete yet, though it's not huge by current standards (160 GB).
Check out Amazon for the case. You'll usually be able to get free shipping.
Yeah your numbers are fine then. The cooler on the ASUS card is fuckawesome. I measured with AIDA64 and MSI Afterburner, and my temps were that low too.
Gods of the Computer Thread, I beseech thee, lend me your ears (err, eyes. fingers. whatever), I seek to build a new PC in the coming two weeks and wish to build the best possible (on my budget).
I'm looking to spend around $1,200, that number is a little flexible. I'd be happier going under $1,200 instead of over, but if $1,201 gets me the best system ever and $1,199 gets me junk, so be it!
I'm looking for a full build, including a monitor. I have a keyboard and speakers already, I have a wifi card I can take but having an extra one wouldn't be a bad idea (I'm turning my old PC into a media station, it doesn't need wifi capability but it could be useful if I move it around). I'd also like plenty of storage space, I'm a fan of Steam and that service eats through a hard drive real fast, so extra storage is a definite plus.
I'm looking for a gaming-focused PC, Windows 7, I have no bias towards AMD / NVidia / Intel / AMD.
I'm hoping to find some unusually good Black Friday deals to maximize my results, but I'm open to alternatives if you think of any.
I finished my refresh a week ago or so. I wasn't able to upgrade my 9800 GTX+, so I wasn't sure how much of an improvement I would see. However, I did go to a 2500k from a q6600 (2.4 quad), 8gb of DD3 from 4gb of DDR2, Win7 from Vista, and I added an SSD.
The game I play the most right now is Rift, and holy fuck is there an improvement. My framerates were terrible during crowded events (2-3 fps, sometimes worse), and only got up to 25 or so if I was all alone in some barren field. Now I'm running around at almost 60fps, and events look awesome! I can tell what I'm shooting at and even what it's doing! It doesn't look like someone made a powerpoint about the battle! I haven't even OC'ed this thing yet.
Eventually I want to get another gpu, but I'm pretty happy now. My next upgrade might be the case. I'm using an Antec Sonata, the original one. I think this is the 5th PC I've built in it. It still looks great, but there are some features it doesn't have that I think I would like. Space behind the mobo tray? No sir. HD audio front ports? Here's AC97, and the mic port hisses even if nothing is plugged into it. USB 3.0? Surely you jest. PSU on the bottom? Why wouldn't you want the heaviest thing at the highest point?
I finished my refresh a week ago or so. I wasn't able to upgrade my 9800 GTX+, so I wasn't sure how much of an improvement I would see. However, I did go to a 2500k from a q6600 (2.4 quad), 8gb of DD3 from 4gb of DDR2, Win7 from Vista, and I added an SSD.
The game I play the most right now is Rift, and holy fuck is there an improvement. My framerates were terrible during crowded events (2-3 fps, sometimes worse), and only got up to 25 or so if I was all alone in some barren field. Now I'm running around at almost 60fps, and events look awesome! I can tell what I'm shooting at and even what it's doing! It doesn't look like someone made a powerpoint about the battle! I haven't even OC'ed this thing yet.
Eventually I want to get another gpu, but I'm pretty happy now. My next upgrade might be the case. I'm using an Antec Sonata, the original one. I think this is the 5th PC I've built in it. It still looks great, but there are some features it doesn't have that I think I would like. Space behind the mobo tray? No sir. HD audio front ports? Here's AC97, and the mic port hisses even if nothing is plugged into it. USB 3.0? Surely you jest. PSU on the bottom? Why wouldn't you want the heaviest thing at the highest point?
Now imagine that system with something like a 6950 in it...
Musanman: that cpu is a first gen i3 and won't run on an lga1155 motherboard. Change it to an i3 2100
Is this build for gaming? If so you should at least see if the budget will stretch to a 6850 for video, that 520 is very cheap, but I'm not sure how well it will actually perform
Musanman: that cpu is a first gen i3 and won't run on an lga1155 motherboard. Change it to an i3 2100
Is this build for gaming? If so you should at least see if the budget will stretch to a 6850 for video, that 520 is very cheap, but I'm not sure how well it will actually perform
I was going to do some double checking for compatibility but knew you guys would catch it right away
That's $1250 (not counting shipping, tax, or MIRs).
If CFX/SLI capability is desired I would spring for a 650W unit like the XFX Core Edition 650W unit, due to its full complement of 4 PCI-E connectors. You can also probably spend less on the monitor without sacrificing too much, I'd bet. If you can wait on a hard drive till prices drop, and/or can re-use an older one, you could forgo the Green Drive for a time and put some of those savings toward a nicer motherboard.
Musanman: that cpu is a first gen i3 and won't run on an lga1155 motherboard. Change it to an i3 2100
Is this build for gaming? If so you should at least see if the budget will stretch to a 6850 for video, that 520 is very cheap, but I'm not sure how well it will actually perform
I was going to do some double checking for compatibility but knew you guys would catch it right away
Adds about $30. No gaming this is pretty much web browsing and word processing.
Just don't add a video card for now, then. The integrated GPU in the i3-2100 is more than sufficient for productivity, movies, web surfing, and other "basic" functions like that.
Hi, thread! Sorry if this has been asked extremely recently, butI need help picking a new GPU. The GTX 560 (regular flavor) or 6870 seem to be right up my alley/price range. I found a few, can you guys help me pick one (or suggest something else)?
I'm thinking of waiting for the i7-3820 which will be, from what I hear, the same price as the i7-2700k. Any reason I should or should not get it? I remember you guys said go i5, but I'm going i7 because I might be running this computer for a good 4-5 years, and my CPU is something I don't want to worry about for a long time. Keep in mind I do HEAVY gaming as high as I can crank the details, and in 3D. I also run at times run dozens of tabs of FireFox at once or work on multiple big images in Photoshop.
Main problem with the 3820 is that since it's an lga2011 chip instead of the lga1155 26/2700ks, you will need a pricier motherboard. A very nice 1155 motherboard is a bit under two hundred dollars, unless you demand triple/quad gpus. An entry level 2011 board is like 230-250.
e: also the 3820 won't have a full unlocked multiplier, and if you're really pushing for highest performance in games being able to OC your chip is going to give you better performance, as games tend to respond very well to clock speed increases, if you happen to be cpu bound rather than gpu bound. Technically you can still get it set to high clocks, but you don't have the granularity that the unlocked multi chips will have, so you may hit a low ceiling depending on the specific capabilities of the chip you get and your cooling.
patriot and kingston both sell good ram, but I honestly can't see getting less than some 1600mhz sticks, especially if you're dropping enough cash on the build to get an i7. From most of the testing I've read, it looks like sandybridge sees modest improvements up to around the 1600mhz speed on ram, and above that the gains are small to nonexistant outside synthetic benchmarks.
e2: tigerdirect's site is annoying me on search, so these are newegg links but if you're set on 16 gigs I'd go with either this g skill kit or this corsair kit. Both will fit under any air cooler you should use, are priced competetively, and hit the sweet spot on price/performance of 9 9 9 24 timings and 1600mzh
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The_SpaniardIt's never lupinesIrvine, CaliforniaRegistered Userregular
So if I want to get a 3820 then I'd be spending an extra 50ish bucks on a motherboard to go with it? Is money the only reason you could see for me not wanting to get it?
Well, aside from the trickier and more limited overclocking options on the 3820, yeah cost. There's basically no real world gains to be had in games and most other normal desktop use from the extras on the platform, so the main draw of x79 is hexa core chips, and then you're talking significant cost increases.
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The_SpaniardIt's never lupinesIrvine, CaliforniaRegistered Userregular
Well, aside from the trickier and more limited overclocking options on the 3820, yeah cost. There's basically no real world gains to be had in games and most other normal desktop use from the extras on the platform, so the main draw of x79 is hexa core chips, and then you're talking significant cost increases.
Okay for someone that is a massive graphics whoring gamer, that will upgrade their GPU but not their CPU for a few years, what would you guys recommend?
Musanman: that cpu is a first gen i3 and won't run on an lga1155 motherboard. Change it to an i3 2100
Is this build for gaming? If so you should at least see if the budget will stretch to a 6850 for video, that 520 is very cheap, but I'm not sure how well it will actually perform
I was going to do some double checking for compatibility but knew you guys would catch it right away
Adds about $30. No gaming this is pretty much web browsing and word processing.
Just don't add a video card for now, then. The integrated GPU in the i3-2100 is more than sufficient for productivity, movies, web surfing, and other "basic" functions like that.
When it says onboard video: none that isn't a problem right? I've always just bought a video card so I'm not sure what to look for
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Lord_SnotЖиву за выходныеAmerican ValhallaRegistered Userregular
How's this for a rig?
Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium (64 BIT)
Processor : AMD Phenom II X6 1045T(2.70GHz,512kx6)
1 TB SATA Hard Drive (7200 RPM)
8 GB DDR3 SDRAM 1333MHz (4 DIMMs)
16X DVD +/- RW Drive
1024MB ATI Radeon HD 5770 GDDR5 Graphics card
Saw it going cheap in a shop the other day for 400 euros, how would that run modern games? I'm a student, so can't really afford to spend a massive amount of money on building a desktop, so was thinking of buying this. It'd certainly be a big step-up from what I'm currently running, which is:
If the cheap rig isn't good enough, can anyone point me in the direction of a cheap, but good performing computer? Or would the best bet be to build my own?
Musanman: that cpu is a first gen i3 and won't run on an lga1155 motherboard. Change it to an i3 2100
Is this build for gaming? If so you should at least see if the budget will stretch to a 6850 for video, that 520 is very cheap, but I'm not sure how well it will actually perform
I was going to do some double checking for compatibility but knew you guys would catch it right away
Adds about $30. No gaming this is pretty much web browsing and word processing.
Just don't add a video card for now, then. The integrated GPU in the i3-2100 is more than sufficient for productivity, movies, web surfing, and other "basic" functions like that.
When it says onboard video: none that isn't a problem right? I've always just bought a video card so I'm not sure what to look for
It used to be that you could get motherboards with integrated graphics (which I assume is what you're looking at). But now the Sandy Bridge CPUs (and AMD's Llano procs) have integrated graphics build into the chip. So as long as you pair the i3 with either an H67 or Z68 motherboard, you can use the CPU's iGPU for the basic functions Alecthar mentioned.
That's $1250 (not counting shipping, tax, or MIRs).
If CFX/SLI capability is desired I would spring for a 650W unit like the XFX Core Edition 650W unit, due to its full complement of 4 PCI-E connectors. You can also probably spend less on the monitor without sacrificing too much, I'd bet. If you can wait on a hard drive till prices drop, and/or can re-use an older one, you could forgo the Green Drive for a time and put some of those savings toward a nicer motherboard.
All very good points. I know absolutely nothing about monitor selection, so that was really just a mildly educated guess (filtered the search for 24", widescreen, 1080p, 2-3ms response time, and then picked the cheapest Samsung because my gut told me they were better quality manufacturer than ASUS or Acer).
The one thing I was most hesitant to suggest was the Green HDD (although NCIX's $90 pricetag is pretty damn good for today's market). With a 120GB SSD you'll get your OS and a few games on there. So putting everything else on a really slow 5400rpm storage drive might be an issue if you're the kind of person that plays 15 games all at once. If that's you, you'll probably be better off getting a 1TB 7200rpm drive. Office Depot has the Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 ST31000524AS 1TB for $69 and the Western Digital Caviar Black WDBAAZ0010HNC-NRSN 1TB (which will be faster than the Seagate) for $89. Both of which are nearly pre-flood prices.
All very good points. I know absolutely nothing about monitor selection, so that was really just a mildly educated guess (filtered the search for 24", widescreen, 1080p, 2-3ms response time, and then picked the cheapest Samsung because my gut told me they were better quality manufacturer than ASUS or Acer).
'
You really can't go wrong with an ASUS or even Acer monitor, they both produce solid TN displays at good prices. That said, Samsung is a world leader in LCD panels, so if quality is your only requirement they might be the go-to.
Well, aside from the trickier and more limited overclocking options on the 3820, yeah cost. There's basically no real world gains to be had in games and most other normal desktop use from the extras on the platform, so the main draw of x79 is hexa core chips, and then you're talking significant cost increases.
Okay for someone that is a massive graphics whoring gamer, that will upgrade their GPU but not their CPU for a few years, what would you guys recommend?
There is no reason to put down the cash for an LGA 2011 system unless you have a use for that extra processing power (gaming doesn't require it at all). Also, there's a good chance an overclocked i7-2600K will be faster than an overclocked 3820, so there's not necessarily a benefit there. An i5-2500K or i7-2600K will almost certainly last you for 4-5 years if you're just gaming.
Musanman: that cpu is a first gen i3 and won't run on an lga1155 motherboard. Change it to an i3 2100
Is this build for gaming? If so you should at least see if the budget will stretch to a 6850 for video, that 520 is very cheap, but I'm not sure how well it will actually perform
I was going to do some double checking for compatibility but knew you guys would catch it right away
The one thing I was most hesitant to suggest was the Green HDD (although NCIX's $90 pricetag is pretty damn good for today's market). With a 120GB SSD you'll get your OS and a few games on there. So putting everything else on a really slow 5400rpm storage drive might be an issue if you're the kind of person that plays 15 games all at once. If that's you, you'll probably be better off getting a 1TB 7200rpm drive. Office Depot has the Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 ST31000524AS 1TB for $69 and the Western Digital Caviar Black WDBAAZ0010HNC-NRSN 1TB (which will be faster than the Seagate) for $89. Both of which are nearly pre-flood prices.
Hard Drives are a nightmare right now. I'll keep your build in mind, I'm buying parts on 11/25 in a (perhaps fruitless) effort to save some extra cash, but I ordered the WD 1TB from Office Depot already, just in case that's the best HD deal I'll see for the next 6 months. Even if something better shows up next week, $90 for a solid 1TB isn't a bad deal.
The one thing I was most hesitant to suggest was the Green HDD (although NCIX's $90 pricetag is pretty damn good for today's market). With a 120GB SSD you'll get your OS and a few games on there. So putting everything else on a really slow 5400rpm storage drive might be an issue if you're the kind of person that plays 15 games all at once. If that's you, you'll probably be better off getting a 1TB 7200rpm drive. Office Depot has the Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 ST31000524AS 1TB for $69 and the Western Digital Caviar Black WDBAAZ0010HNC-NRSN 1TB (which will be faster than the Seagate) for $89. Both of which are nearly pre-flood prices.
Hard Drives are a nightmare right now. I'll keep your build in mind, I'm buying parts on 11/25 in a (perhaps fruitless) effort to save some extra cash, but I ordered the WD 1TB from Office Depot already, just in case that's the best HD deal I'll see for the next 6 months. Even if something better shows up next week, $90 for a solid 1TB isn't a bad deal.
Unless you're interested in running dual-GPUs (or more future proofing I guess), the promo code and MIR that brings the cost of the Antec Neo Eco 520W down to an absurd $35 both expire this Monday (11/21).
Posts
Like I shouldn't expect to use any if I don't have one of those in my build. Or is it included with something else?
At 100% load it caps out at 60°C. That's good, right?
Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better
bit.ly/2XQM1ke
I'm going to evaluate my funds and watch my Newegg on Black Friday to see if any of it goes on a considerable sale.
Steam: Car1gt // Tumblr // Facebook // Twitter
Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better
bit.ly/2XQM1ke
I love this card.
It's on the bottom of the stock heatsink. The gray patch, made up of three stripes.
That seems low, what card and monitoring program are you using?
And it's not the monitoring program ; when i went sli and oc'd, it shot up to like 90, which is within spec.
Some of these 560s just run really cool. Mines the ASUS.
Edit: IIRC it barely went above 60 when oc'd, too. But the cooler ran a bit harder.
That's a ridiculous price for the Neo Eco 520 (even in the off chance that the MIR doesn't come through). If you're going to be buying a new build any time soon, that's a price that's too good to pass up.
As for the SSD, that's a pretty great price, but I might still hold out for the Black Friday/Cyber Monday sales at the least. And if you're not building for a couple months the prices may still come down further buy then (although I have no knowledge of anything specific coming out that would do that, it's just a guess).
As for carrying over your case and HDD, depending on your budget you might want to look replacing them too. NZXT has some really relatively cheap cases with nice cable management cutouts that will really help your airflow. The Gamma, Source 210, and Beta Evo are all under $50. And depending on how old your HDD is, it may be an old IDE connection (the big flat ribbon cable). You'll definitely want a SATA drive.
I need to build a computer for my parents and sister
General stuff: MS Office, browsing the net, connecting it to the TV to watch Netflix, etc.
Also, my dad will be reusing an older monitor, so I might need something to adapt to VGA
I would like to keep the parts solid at the lowest price
Mine's the Asus too.
@Pariel Was using GPU-Z.
Really hate this thread. My full-size tower is a chunky cumbersome monster, and it's had enough ventilation problems that the extra 30-40 bucks is probably worth it. The Gamma looks really nice for the price too.
So, I bought the bullet on the power supply and the SSD. With the rebate and today's discount it's only 72.64 for 60 gigs, and I can't imagine anything beating that by enough to make me super regretful.
Thanks for the advice, and the SATA/IDE info, I hadn't even thought to check. Thankfully it's SATA 2, so it's not completely obsolete yet, though it's not huge by current standards (160 GB).
Check out Amazon for the case. You'll usually be able to get free shipping.
Yeah your numbers are fine then. The cooler on the ASUS card is fuckawesome. I measured with AIDA64 and MSI Afterburner, and my temps were that low too.
I'm looking to spend around $1,200, that number is a little flexible. I'd be happier going under $1,200 instead of over, but if $1,201 gets me the best system ever and $1,199 gets me junk, so be it!
I'm looking for a full build, including a monitor. I have a keyboard and speakers already, I have a wifi card I can take but having an extra one wouldn't be a bad idea (I'm turning my old PC into a media station, it doesn't need wifi capability but it could be useful if I move it around). I'd also like plenty of storage space, I'm a fan of Steam and that service eats through a hard drive real fast, so extra storage is a definite plus.
I'm looking for a gaming-focused PC, Windows 7, I have no bias towards AMD / NVidia / Intel / AMD.
I'm hoping to find some unusually good Black Friday deals to maximize my results, but I'm open to alternatives if you think of any.
The game I play the most right now is Rift, and holy fuck is there an improvement. My framerates were terrible during crowded events (2-3 fps, sometimes worse), and only got up to 25 or so if I was all alone in some barren field. Now I'm running around at almost 60fps, and events look awesome! I can tell what I'm shooting at and even what it's doing! It doesn't look like someone made a powerpoint about the battle! I haven't even OC'ed this thing yet.
Eventually I want to get another gpu, but I'm pretty happy now. My next upgrade might be the case. I'm using an Antec Sonata, the original one. I think this is the 5th PC I've built in it. It still looks great, but there are some features it doesn't have that I think I would like. Space behind the mobo tray? No sir. HD audio front ports? Here's AC97, and the mic port hisses even if nothing is plugged into it. USB 3.0? Surely you jest. PSU on the bottom? Why wouldn't you want the heaviest thing at the highest point?
Now imagine that system with something like a 6950 in it...
Item #:N82E16814130633
$59.99
Xigmatek ASGARD II B/S CPC-T45UD-U01 Black / Silver Computer Case
Item #:N82E16811815005
$39.99
Recertified: Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 250GB 3.5" SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive (Perpendicular Recording) -Bare Drive
Item #:N82E16822148603
$59.99
CORSAIR Builder Series CX430 V2 430W Power Supply
Item #:N82E16817139026
$44.99
Intel Core i3-540 3.06GHz LGA 1156 73W Dual-Core Desktop Processor
Item #:N82E16819115221
$99.99
LG CD/DVD Burner Black SATA Model GH22NS70 OEM
Item #:N82E16827136238
$20.99
GIGABYTE GA-H61M-DS2 Micro ATX Intel Motherboard
Item #:N82E16813128527
$54.99
Kingston HyperX 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 Desktop Memory
Item #:N82E16820104227
$29.99
Grand Total: $410.92
Am I missing anything?
Fractal Design Core 3000
Intel i5-2500k
ASRock Z68 Extreme3 Gen3
CoolerMaster Hyper 212+
G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 2x4GB DDR3 1600
Antec Neo Eco 520W If you buy it by Monday it's an absurd value.
(if you think dual-GPUs are something you're interested in go with the Antec HCG-620
OCZ Vertex 3 120GB
WD Caviar Green 2TB
XFX HD6950 1GB
Samsung S24A350H 24" 2ms Full HD LED BackLight LCD
That's $1250 (not counting shipping, tax, or MIRs).
Is this build for gaming? If so you should at least see if the budget will stretch to a 6850 for video, that 520 is very cheap, but I'm not sure how well it will actually perform
I was going to do some double checking for compatibility but knew you guys would catch it right away
Intel Core i3-2100 Sandy Bridge 3.1GHz LGA 1155 65W Dual-Core Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics 2000 BX80623I32100
124.99
Adds about $30. No gaming this is pretty much web browsing and word processing.
You usually get some TIM with an aftermarket cooler if you pick one up. If you use the stock cooler, there is some TIM already applied.
If CFX/SLI capability is desired I would spring for a 650W unit like the XFX Core Edition 650W unit, due to its full complement of 4 PCI-E connectors. You can also probably spend less on the monitor without sacrificing too much, I'd bet. If you can wait on a hard drive till prices drop, and/or can re-use an older one, you could forgo the Green Drive for a time and put some of those savings toward a nicer motherboard.
Just don't add a video card for now, then. The integrated GPU in the i3-2100 is more than sufficient for productivity, movies, web surfing, and other "basic" functions like that.
Battle.net
6870 recommended by techreport
A 560
Another 560
Battle.net
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/searchtools/item-Details.asp?EdpNo=1393467&sku=K24-9978
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/searchtools/item-Details.asp?EdpNo=6662293&sku=P33-7227 <-X4
I'm thinking of waiting for the i7-3820 which will be, from what I hear, the same price as the i7-2700k. Any reason I should or should not get it? I remember you guys said go i5, but I'm going i7 because I might be running this computer for a good 4-5 years, and my CPU is something I don't want to worry about for a long time. Keep in mind I do HEAVY gaming as high as I can crank the details, and in 3D. I also run at times run dozens of tabs of FireFox at once or work on multiple big images in Photoshop.
e: also the 3820 won't have a full unlocked multiplier, and if you're really pushing for highest performance in games being able to OC your chip is going to give you better performance, as games tend to respond very well to clock speed increases, if you happen to be cpu bound rather than gpu bound. Technically you can still get it set to high clocks, but you don't have the granularity that the unlocked multi chips will have, so you may hit a low ceiling depending on the specific capabilities of the chip you get and your cooling.
patriot and kingston both sell good ram, but I honestly can't see getting less than some 1600mhz sticks, especially if you're dropping enough cash on the build to get an i7. From most of the testing I've read, it looks like sandybridge sees modest improvements up to around the 1600mhz speed on ram, and above that the gains are small to nonexistant outside synthetic benchmarks.
e2: tigerdirect's site is annoying me on search, so these are newegg links but if you're set on 16 gigs I'd go with either this g skill kit or this corsair kit. Both will fit under any air cooler you should use, are priced competetively, and hit the sweet spot on price/performance of 9 9 9 24 timings and 1600mzh
When it says onboard video: none that isn't a problem right? I've always just bought a video card so I'm not sure what to look for
Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium (64 BIT)
Processor : AMD Phenom II X6 1045T(2.70GHz,512kx6)
1 TB SATA Hard Drive (7200 RPM)
8 GB DDR3 SDRAM 1333MHz (4 DIMMs)
16X DVD +/- RW Drive
1024MB ATI Radeon HD 5770 GDDR5 Graphics card
Saw it going cheap in a shop the other day for 400 euros, how would that run modern games? I'm a student, so can't really afford to spend a massive amount of money on building a desktop, so was thinking of buying this. It'd certainly be a big step-up from what I'm currently running, which is:
AMD 64x2 @ 2.2GHz
AMD Mobility Radeon 4570 512MB
4GB DDR2
320GB HDD
If the cheap rig isn't good enough, can anyone point me in the direction of a cheap, but good performing computer? Or would the best bet be to build my own?
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It used to be that you could get motherboards with integrated graphics (which I assume is what you're looking at). But now the Sandy Bridge CPUs (and AMD's Llano procs) have integrated graphics build into the chip. So as long as you pair the i3 with either an H67 or Z68 motherboard, you can use the CPU's iGPU for the basic functions Alecthar mentioned.
All very good points. I know absolutely nothing about monitor selection, so that was really just a mildly educated guess (filtered the search for 24", widescreen, 1080p, 2-3ms response time, and then picked the cheapest Samsung because my gut told me they were better quality manufacturer than ASUS or Acer).
The one thing I was most hesitant to suggest was the Green HDD (although NCIX's $90 pricetag is pretty damn good for today's market). With a 120GB SSD you'll get your OS and a few games on there. So putting everything else on a really slow 5400rpm storage drive might be an issue if you're the kind of person that plays 15 games all at once. If that's you, you'll probably be better off getting a 1TB 7200rpm drive. Office Depot has the Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 ST31000524AS 1TB for $69 and the Western Digital Caviar Black WDBAAZ0010HNC-NRSN 1TB (which will be faster than the Seagate) for $89. Both of which are nearly pre-flood prices.
You really can't go wrong with an ASUS or even Acer monitor, they both produce solid TN displays at good prices. That said, Samsung is a world leader in LCD panels, so if quality is your only requirement they might be the go-to.
There is no reason to put down the cash for an LGA 2011 system unless you have a use for that extra processing power (gaming doesn't require it at all). Also, there's a good chance an overclocked i7-2600K will be faster than an overclocked 3820, so there's not necessarily a benefit there. An i5-2500K or i7-2600K will almost certainly last you for 4-5 years if you're just gaming.
If that's the case and it needs to be super budget, you could save $40-50 by getting an AMD Llano CPU and mobo combo (like this or this).
Hard Drives are a nightmare right now. I'll keep your build in mind, I'm buying parts on 11/25 in a (perhaps fruitless) effort to save some extra cash, but I ordered the WD 1TB from Office Depot already, just in case that's the best HD deal I'll see for the next 6 months. Even if something better shows up next week, $90 for a solid 1TB isn't a bad deal.
Unless you're interested in running dual-GPUs (or more future proofing I guess), the promo code and MIR that brings the cost of the Antec Neo Eco 520W down to an absurd $35 both expire this Monday (11/21).