So after having some time to play with it I have to say i'm very pleased with this 7970.
I've got it at 1100 core clock on stock volts, which is enough that running bf3 on ultra at 1600p it stays between 40-45fps.
I thought I couldn't push it much above 1000 core due to heat issues but it turns out i really just needed to move my case out from under the desk where things were growing unbearably hot from lack of airflow. I may see if I can push up to 1150, although the ref cooler can only go so far before it becomes wretchedly loud.
I just was searching google because I want to build a mini ITX computer. I stumbled upon this forum and see that everyone seems helpful/knows a lot(at least more than me). This is my first rig, but I am fairly confident I can do this on my own as long as I have some proper guidance..Ill just answer the standard questions and see if you all can help!
• What is your total budget? Id say about 700-800(900 if its worth it)
• What has to be included in that budget? I just need the computer itself, I have a monitor already.
• Is this computer just for gaming and casual computer use or do you have other computationally intensive tasks in mind? I want to use the computer for sort a "jack of all trades" but I want it to be powerful...
• What resolution to you plan on gaming at? Mostly this should be the native resolution of your monitor. I have a 28'' monitor so i think it was 1920x1280? I cant remember the exact #. But its somewhere around there
• 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? Performance wise, I want good performance for most games and "good enough" in most demanding games..(but i mean who doesnt want the most cutting edge performance? Not sure what I can fit into a silverstone SG07 though).
• Are you biased towards either ATI/NVidia or Intel/AMD? Nope- I just want the most bang for my buck(but also think about the budget, lol)
• 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? I hope it can last at least a couple years before I have to replace anything
• How important is being able to upgrade your computer at a later time? Important
Also, are there motherboards with wireless LAN ? I live in a studio so I dont really have much space for long ethernet cables, etc etc. I want to use the Silverstone SG07 with the 600 psu or something similar in size/performance/style.
I don't think there are any boards with wireless LAN built in, so you'll need an adapter or PCIe card.
As far as mini-ITX boards go, you're pretty limited. Newegg lists two ASRock boards that are at least Z68, although ASUS and Intel also have a bunch of H61/67 boards. I'm not sure how big a card you'll be able to squeeze into the SG07. Other than that, I would suggest sticking with Sandy Bridge, either an i3-2100 or i5-2300. Given the small space you're working with, overclocking doesn't seem like a great plan, but someone with more experience may be able to speak to that.
I'll try to chuck together a parts list tomorrow if someone doesn't beat me to it. Do you also need a keyboard and speakers or any other accessories?
I just was searching google because I want to build a mini ITX computer. I stumbled upon this forum and see that everyone seems helpful/knows a lot(at least more than me). This is my first rig, but I am fairly confident I can do this on my own as long as I have some proper guidance..Ill just answer the standard questions and see if you all can help!
• What is your total budget? Id say about 700-800(900 if its worth it)
• What has to be included in that budget? I just need the computer itself, I have a monitor already.
• Is this computer just for gaming and casual computer use or do you have other computationally intensive tasks in mind? I want to use the computer for sort a "jack of all trades" but I want it to be powerful...
• What resolution to you plan on gaming at? Mostly this should be the native resolution of your monitor. I have a 28'' monitor so i think it was 1920x1280? I cant remember the exact #. But its somewhere around there
• 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? Performance wise, I want good performance for most games and "good enough" in most demanding games..(but i mean who doesnt want the most cutting edge performance? Not sure what I can fit into a silverstone SG07 though).
• Are you biased towards either ATI/NVidia or Intel/AMD? Nope- I just want the most bang for my buck(but also think about the budget, lol)
• 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? I hope it can last at least a couple years before I have to replace anything
• How important is being able to upgrade your computer at a later time? Important
Also, are there motherboards with wireless LAN ? I live in a studio so I dont really have much space for long ethernet cables, etc etc. I want to use the Silverstone SG07 with the 600 psu or something similar in size/performance/style.
Thank you so much for everyone's input!
Interesting build - I think I can do it for $800 though, as long as you already have KB/mouse/monitor/Windows/etc.
Shipping is ~$30. I couldn't fit an i5 into that budget, so if you're doing a ton of video editing or Photoshop, we'll probably need to come up with an AMD system to get you more cores.
I have a ATI 5870 - is there benefit to getting a 6970/6990 vs a 7970 (cost obviously) or waiting for a 7870 to save some coin. Also, is this accurate? It makes the 6990 look like a better card: http://www.hwcompare.com/11287/radeon-hd-6990-vs-radeon-hd-7970/
I have a ATI 5870 - is there benefit to getting a 6970/6990 vs a 7970 (cost obviously) or waiting for a 7870 to save some coin. Also, is this accurate? It makes the 6990 look like a better card: http://www.hwcompare.com/11287/radeon-hd-6990-vs-radeon-hd-7970/
Tom's Hardware also ranks the 6990 as a bit better than the 7970. The difference is that the 7870 is a single GPU and the 6990 are dual-GPU cards.
So by waiting I could eventually just get another 7870 and be better off, I dunno what to do. It seems like if the price is better wouldn't I want the 6990?
Edit: I'm dumb, I was looking at the results of a 6990 but on Newegg the 6850 2GB. 6990 is way expensive haha!
I'm looking to build a pc for myself, but I'm hopeless with which parts to buy (putting it all together is fine though).
Could someone point me in the right direction?
• Budget: Ideally £400 or less, but I can go to £500 (£600 at a push).
• I just need the computer itself - I already have a monitor.
• resolution: it's a 19 inch widescreen - I think 1360x768
• I'm looking for something that can play Shogun 2 on high settings (hopefully £400/£500 covers that!). It'll mostly be used for games like total war and anno - i.e. games that I can't get on xbox. I don't need a massive hard drive - something like 120-150GB will do. I don't really need a sound card.
• No bias in parts
• If it could last 3 years or more that'd be great - though I'm not expecting to be able to play on ultra high settings by that point.
• I'd like to be able to upgrade it later on.
@emp123
Thank you for your reply about the budget SW:TOR rig. My buddy used that advice to upgrade some of his rig and he's running the game beautifully now. Success!
Another question, about SOUND CARDS.
I'm just running stock from my ASUS P8P67 PRO. I mainly use headphones, decent ones (Sony MDR7506), and I've noticed the sound seems... tinny. Like very sharp at times. I'm not an audiophile, so I don't know the words. But I do know what sounds good on my ears. Anyway, would a $30 sound card like the ASUS PCI 5.1 Channel Sound Card XONAR_DG give me improvement? Help drive the headphones? Better mic transmission for Mumble? I know $30 isn't much of a gamble, but I'd rather not throw it away...
@emp123
Thank you for your reply about the budget SW:TOR rig. My buddy used that advice to upgrade some of his rig and he's running the game beautifully now. Success!
Another question, about SOUND CARDS.
I'm just running stock from my ASUS P8P67 PRO. I mainly use headphones, decent ones (Sony MDR7506), and I've noticed the sound seems... tinny. Like very sharp at times. I'm not an audiophile, so I don't know the words. But I do know what sounds good on my ears. Anyway, would a $30 sound card like the ASUS PCI 5.1 Channel Sound Card XONAR_DG give me improvement? Help drive the headphones? Better mic transmission for Mumble? I know $30 isn't much of a gamble, but I'd rather not throw it away...
The Asus is a good card and will be better than onboard sound. I don't think it will drive your headphones any better or make your voice over a mic sound better, but the sound quality of audio playback will be better.
@Hewn yeah if I were to recommend an entry level sound card, then it would definitely be the Xonar DG. Are you using the jack on the front of your case? If so, sometimes the cabling and connections can adversely effect the sound quality by a small amount. Try plugging your 'phones directly into the mobo using the rear panel i/o cluster; it may help you out.
oh yeah, if it's only for VOIP then you're probably going to just deal w/it, as Pariel said. For some reason I thought you were talking generally, including listening to music and gaming
I'm looking to build a pc for myself, but I'm hopeless with which parts to buy (putting it all together is fine though).
Could someone point me in the right direction?
• Budget: Ideally £400 or less, but I can go to £500 (£600 at a push).
• I just need the computer itself - I already have a monitor.
• resolution: it's a 19 inch widescreen - I think 1360x768
• I'm looking for something that can play Shogun 2 on high settings (hopefully £400/£500 covers that!). It'll mostly be used for games like total war and anno - i.e. games that I can't get on xbox. I don't need a massive hard drive - something like 120-150GB will do. I don't really need a sound card.
• No bias in parts
• If it could last 3 years or more that'd be great - though I'm not expecting to be able to play on ultra high settings by that point.
• I'd like to be able to upgrade it later on.
Any help is greatly appreciated
Okay, here's a build I just slapped together using a retailer based in the UK from the OP: Asus 6770 GPU Will run Shogun 2 in good detail at your resolution. Intel i3 CPUA good quality dual core proc for your budget Coolermaster 912 advanced An excellent case made better by the fact that you can get the Advanced version, which is much nicer than the standard one that the Yanks get Western Digital Caviar Blue I know you said you only need 150GB, but the industry standard is generally 500GB for mechanical drives. There are some 150GB models out there, but none from a reputable brand available to you, so I think the 500GB is the go A solid, good quality PSU that's within your budget. 8GBs of Corsair memory A good set of quality, no-frills RAM. If you wanted to cut down to 4GB to save some money, you could. LG ODD Just a standard DVD drive that runs at the slighter 24x speed A decent, cheap Asus H67 mobo This mobo is micro ATX which means that it's a smaller form factor. It doesn't have all the bells and whistles of it's big sister, the P8P67 PRO (note-no 'M' on the end) but is still a very good board and will be fine for your needs
Edit: So this all comes out at about 482 quid, with free shipping if you choose the standard 4 day option
I noticed a bit of tearing during cutscenes, but not really during games. I have a 5870 running on full OC from the ATI Catalyst. Is this something to do with my monitor or the graphics card itself? I have a Samsung SyncMaster 226CW.
oh yeah, if it's only for VOIP then you're probably going to just deal w/it, as Pariel said. For some reason I thought you were talking generally, including listening to music and gaming
Indeed, I am talking about music and games, mainly. I just remember reading that sometimes sound cards help make your mic sound better. I'm not terribly worried about that, but when we're talking marginal gains I was hoping for justification with marginal gains all around
oh yeah, if it's only for VOIP then you're probably going to just deal w/it, as Pariel said. For some reason I thought you were talking generally, including listening to music and gaming
Indeed, I am talking about music and games, mainly. I just remember reading that sometimes sound cards help make your mic sound better. I'm not terribly worried about that, but when we're talking marginal gains I was hoping for justification with marginal gains all around
You are about to fall down the well of audiophilia, my friend.
Good luck and Godspeed
In all seriousness, I would be very surprised if you don't get a noticeable increase in quality by installing a soundcard. You may have missed me asking, but whereabouts are you plugging your 'phones in? Try the jack on the mobo if you haven't already and see if the sound is better
oh yeah, @101 I have that sinking feeling you'll need windows for this too It'll boost your build cost up to 562 pounds. Honestly, I believe it worth the cost but let me know if you can't do it and I'll come up with some cost cutting ideas (namely GPU, RAM and HDD)
You are about to fall down the well of audiophilia, my friend.
Good luck and Godspeed
In all seriousness, I would be very surprised if you don't get a noticeable increase in quality by installing a soundcard. You may have missed me asking, but whereabouts are you plugging your 'phones in? Try the jack on the mobo if you haven't already and see if the sound is better
Uh oh. Audiophilia.
Yeah, I'm using the front ports since it's so damn handy. My monster Corsair case is below the desk and a pain to crawl back there. But I'll do some comparison testing. If there's no difference, screw it, I'm going for the card as I want better!
It's reasons like the one you describe which makes me always put my cases in an easily accessible location. I'm alway tinkering and tweaking, so maybe by putting my case out of view I'll finally get around to playing some games on it :P
Sir CarcassI have been shown the end of my worldRound Rock, TXRegistered Userregular
Ugh, gotta take off my heatsink and put new thermal paste on when I get home. My computer shut down last night in the middle of a game and I checked my temps on reboot and the cpu was at 80c. The heatsink is probably full of dust, too. I have to do this like every 6 months. I really need to get a decent aftermarket cooler (want the Hyper 212) and good paste, but money.
I think I'm due for a new monitor, I have a 22 Samsung from 2008, should I look to spend more on another Samsung or are either of these good? Also not sure the differences between 24 v 23.6 aside from size- I think 24 is my max since my desk won't allow much bigger.
Why the new monitor? I only ask because the ones you're looking at don't seem like much of an upgrade, and I'm not sure you'd get your money's worth by upgrading.
0
ChaosHatHop, hop, hop, HA!Trick of the lightRegistered Userregular
So, looking at a tax return funded video card upgrade.
So, for 250ish should I get a 560ti or 6950 2gb card?
oh yeah, @101 I have that sinking feeling you'll need windows for this too It'll boost your build cost up to 562 pounds. Honestly, I believe it worth the cost but let me know if you can't do it and I'll come up with some cost cutting ideas (namely GPU, RAM and HDD)
Thanks for the build - looks awesome.
I can bite the bullet on windows, but I was thinking of making some savings though - mainly the RAM and the case.
Looking through I think this case might work?
That would bring the cost to £25 over the original build - I'm happy enough with that
That case will work, it just won't be as good. No motherboard tray cutout, no removable drive bays, no 2.5" bay adapter, cable routing doesn't look that great. It does have tooless drive bays, which is nice.
Coolermaster 912 advanced An excellent case made better by the fact that you can get the Advanced version, which is much nicer than the standard one that the Yanks get
Well, one would hope it's nicer, considering it's twice as much. I think at that price range I'd be looking at something better than the 912. Although you guys seem to be screwed on price, if that website's any indication.
Why the new monitor? I only ask because the ones you're looking at don't seem like much of an upgrade, and I'm not sure you'd get your money's worth by upgrading.
I had mentioned in the prior page:
snip:
I noticed a bit of tearing during cutscenes, but not really during games. I have a 5870 running on full OC from the ATI Catalyst Software. Is this something to do with my monitor or the graphics card itself? I have a Samsung SyncMaster 226CW. I understand why it happens, should I force v-sync from Catalyst or is there something else I'm missing?
It has happened in SW:TOR and The Witcher so I'm not sure the culprit.
oh yeah, @101 I have that sinking feeling you'll need windows for this too It'll boost your build cost up to 562 pounds. Honestly, I believe it worth the cost but let me know if you can't do it and I'll come up with some cost cutting ideas (namely GPU, RAM and HDD)
Thanks for the build - looks awesome.
I can bite the bullet on windows, but I was thinking of making some savings though - mainly the RAM and the case.
Looking through I think this case might work?
That would bring the cost to £25 over the original build - I'm happy enough with that
You could go with a Zalman Z9 Plus. It's not as cheap as the Novatech Vulcan, but it has a much better set of features.
Why the new monitor? I only ask because the ones you're looking at don't seem like much of an upgrade, and I'm not sure you'd get your money's worth by upgrading.
I had mentioned in the prior page:
snip:
I noticed a bit of tearing during cutscenes, but not really during games. I have a 5870 running on full OC from the ATI Catalyst Software. Is this something to do with my monitor or the graphics card itself? I have a Samsung SyncMaster 226CW. I understand why it happens, should I force v-sync from Catalyst or is there something else I'm missing?
It has happened in SW:TOR and The Witcher so I'm not sure the culprit.
It's possible your monitor is the culprit, but I'd be really surprised. It's much more likely it's due to the game or graphics card. There's probably a way to test it, but I can't think of any off the top of my head. If you're only seeing it in those two games, well, you could try running something that pushes the system and see if you run into the same problems.
The Witcher is known to have screen tearing issues. I get some minor screen tearing with my xfired 6870s.
@101 yeah the zalman Z9 plus would be a much better case than that Vulcan you listed. The Vulcan isn't going to explode into flames or kill your family or anything like that, but it really strikes me as a cheap and nasty case
That Vulcan isn't a bad case design, it's just an old design. it lacks any cable routing behind the motherboard to get a cleaner more airflow friendly build. no filters on the intakes, no bottom intake for the psu.
it is really cheap though, so that's always a plus.
At that end of the case spectrum, a relatively small amount of money makes a huge difference in the quality of the product. Skimping on your case is definitely alright, but it can be a huge pain as well. A good case (like a good PSU) can last many builds, as well.
In all seriousness, I would be very surprised if you don't get a noticeable increase in quality by installing a soundcard.
Really? I abandoned sound cards back in 2007 when there stopped being a clear benefit. Any Tom's/Anand/HardOCP articles on the subject?
None that I've read, I'm going off what people who have good opinions on things have told me and my own personal experience. Normally I wouldn't really bother recommending soundcards straight off the bat, but since he's specifically said that he's unsatisfied with the audio quality I think it'll be a good idea.
It should also go without saying that you have a quality set of 'phones, too
In all seriousness, I would be very surprised if you don't get a noticeable increase in quality by installing a soundcard.
Really? I abandoned sound cards back in 2007 when there stopped being a clear benefit. Any Tom's/Anand/HardOCP articles on the subject?
None that I've read, I'm going off what people who have good opinions on things have told me and my own personal experience. Normally I wouldn't really bother recommending soundcards straight off the bat, but since he's specifically said that he's unsatisfied with the audio quality I think it'll be a good idea.
It should also go without saying that you have a quality set of 'phones, too
Just to chime in, I've noticed marked improvement moving my headphones to the back port. It's unclear how much improvement I'd get from the soundcard at this point, seeing as I'm already much happier. For whatever reason the front port makes the headphones really tinny and sharp. I'm using the Sony mdr 7506 headphones, which run around $80-$100.
Soon as I order another computer part, I'll probably get the sound card anyway and I'll definitely report back if the simple $30 investment gives any notable gains. According to some amateur reviews, the sound card allows the front port to not suck, too.
Yeah, a sound card's main use is reducing the signal to noise ratio. The SNR is probably why you found your sounds were tinny. Because the cable connecting your mobo to your front audio jack is not great quality and is a fair distance away from the mobo (relatively speaking) you are finding the quality is not as good.
A discrete sound card should help you even further in reducing the SNR as well as doing some other fancy stuff
Posts
I've got it at 1100 core clock on stock volts, which is enough that running bf3 on ultra at 1600p it stays between 40-45fps.
I thought I couldn't push it much above 1000 core due to heat issues but it turns out i really just needed to move my case out from under the desk where things were growing unbearably hot from lack of airflow. I may see if I can push up to 1150, although the ref cooler can only go so far before it becomes wretchedly loud.
I just was searching google because I want to build a mini ITX computer. I stumbled upon this forum and see that everyone seems helpful/knows a lot(at least more than me). This is my first rig, but I am fairly confident I can do this on my own as long as I have some proper guidance..Ill just answer the standard questions and see if you all can help!
• What is your total budget? Id say about 700-800(900 if its worth it)
• What has to be included in that budget? I just need the computer itself, I have a monitor already.
• Is this computer just for gaming and casual computer use or do you have other computationally intensive tasks in mind? I want to use the computer for sort a "jack of all trades" but I want it to be powerful...
• What resolution to you plan on gaming at? Mostly this should be the native resolution of your monitor. I have a 28'' monitor so i think it was 1920x1280? I cant remember the exact #. But its somewhere around there
• 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? Performance wise, I want good performance for most games and "good enough" in most demanding games..(but i mean who doesnt want the most cutting edge performance? Not sure what I can fit into a silverstone SG07 though).
• Are you biased towards either ATI/NVidia or Intel/AMD? Nope- I just want the most bang for my buck(but also think about the budget, lol)
• 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? I hope it can last at least a couple years before I have to replace anything
• How important is being able to upgrade your computer at a later time? Important
Also, are there motherboards with wireless LAN ? I live in a studio so I dont really have much space for long ethernet cables, etc etc. I want to use the Silverstone SG07 with the 600 psu or something similar in size/performance/style.
Thank you so much for everyone's input!
As far as mini-ITX boards go, you're pretty limited. Newegg lists two ASRock boards that are at least Z68, although ASUS and Intel also have a bunch of H61/67 boards. I'm not sure how big a card you'll be able to squeeze into the SG07. Other than that, I would suggest sticking with Sandy Bridge, either an i3-2100 or i5-2300. Given the small space you're working with, overclocking doesn't seem like a great plan, but someone with more experience may be able to speak to that.
I'll try to chuck together a parts list tomorrow if someone doesn't beat me to it. Do you also need a keyboard and speakers or any other accessories?
As stated before; I know I could've bought alternative components for a overall cheaper build, but smoke em' if you got em'!
MB: $295
CPU: $280
GPU: $510
PSU: $210
SSD: $190
OS: $140
MEM: $50
CPU-COOL: $60
DVD: $20
CASE: $180
Total: $1935
that is pretty amazing on a single card
Path of Exile: snowcrash7
MTG Arena: Snow_Crash#34179
Battle.net: Snowcrash#1873
Two important things: your case will need to be able to fit the graphics card, and you'll need a ~350-400W power supply minimum.
If you do need to replace your existing power supply, the Corsair CX430 is reasonably good and reasonably cheap.
Path of Exile: snowcrash7
MTG Arena: Snow_Crash#34179
Battle.net: Snowcrash#1873
Interesting build - I think I can do it for $800 though, as long as you already have KB/mouse/monitor/Windows/etc.
Shipping is ~$30. I couldn't fit an i5 into that budget, so if you're doing a ton of video editing or Photoshop, we'll probably need to come up with an AMD system to get you more cores.
Add $100 for Windows 7 if you don't have access to anything cheaper: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116986
Tom's Hardware also ranks the 6990 as a bit better than the 7970. The difference is that the 7870 is a single GPU and the 6990 are dual-GPU cards.
Edit: I'm dumb, I was looking at the results of a 6990 but on Newegg the 6850 2GB. 6990 is way expensive haha!
Could someone point me in the right direction?
• Budget: Ideally £400 or less, but I can go to £500 (£600 at a push).
• I just need the computer itself - I already have a monitor.
• resolution: it's a 19 inch widescreen - I think 1360x768
• I'm looking for something that can play Shogun 2 on high settings (hopefully £400/£500 covers that!). It'll mostly be used for games like total war and anno - i.e. games that I can't get on xbox. I don't need a massive hard drive - something like 120-150GB will do. I don't really need a sound card.
• No bias in parts
• If it could last 3 years or more that'd be great - though I'm not expecting to be able to play on ultra high settings by that point.
• I'd like to be able to upgrade it later on.
Any help is greatly appreciated
Thank you for your reply about the budget SW:TOR rig. My buddy used that advice to upgrade some of his rig and he's running the game beautifully now. Success!
Another question, about SOUND CARDS.
I'm just running stock from my ASUS P8P67 PRO. I mainly use headphones, decent ones (Sony MDR7506), and I've noticed the sound seems... tinny. Like very sharp at times. I'm not an audiophile, so I don't know the words. But I do know what sounds good on my ears. Anyway, would a $30 sound card like the ASUS PCI 5.1 Channel Sound Card XONAR_DG give me improvement? Help drive the headphones? Better mic transmission for Mumble? I know $30 isn't much of a gamble, but I'd rather not throw it away...
Warframe: TheBaconDwarf
The Asus is a good card and will be better than onboard sound. I don't think it will drive your headphones any better or make your voice over a mic sound better, but the sound quality of audio playback will be better.
Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better
bit.ly/2XQM1ke
Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better
bit.ly/2XQM1ke
Okay, here's a build I just slapped together using a retailer based in the UK from the OP:
Asus 6770 GPU Will run Shogun 2 in good detail at your resolution.
Intel i3 CPUA good quality dual core proc for your budget
Coolermaster 912 advanced An excellent case made better by the fact that you can get the Advanced version, which is much nicer than the standard one that the Yanks get
Western Digital Caviar Blue I know you said you only need 150GB, but the industry standard is generally 500GB for mechanical drives. There are some 150GB models out there, but none from a reputable brand available to you, so I think the 500GB is the go
A solid, good quality PSU that's within your budget.
8GBs of Corsair memory A good set of quality, no-frills RAM. If you wanted to cut down to 4GB to save some money, you could.
LG ODD Just a standard DVD drive that runs at the slighter 24x speed
A decent, cheap Asus H67 mobo This mobo is micro ATX which means that it's a smaller form factor. It doesn't have all the bells and whistles of it's big sister, the P8P67 PRO (note-no 'M' on the end) but is still a very good board and will be fine for your needs
Edit: So this all comes out at about 482 quid, with free shipping if you choose the standard 4 day option
Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better
bit.ly/2XQM1ke
Indeed, I am talking about music and games, mainly. I just remember reading that sometimes sound cards help make your mic sound better. I'm not terribly worried about that, but when we're talking marginal gains I was hoping for justification with marginal gains all around
Warframe: TheBaconDwarf
You are about to fall down the well of audiophilia, my friend.
Good luck and Godspeed
In all seriousness, I would be very surprised if you don't get a noticeable increase in quality by installing a soundcard. You may have missed me asking, but whereabouts are you plugging your 'phones in? Try the jack on the mobo if you haven't already and see if the sound is better
Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better
bit.ly/2XQM1ke
Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better
bit.ly/2XQM1ke
Uh oh. Audiophilia.
Yeah, I'm using the front ports since it's so damn handy. My monster Corsair case is below the desk and a pain to crawl back there. But I'll do some comparison testing. If there's no difference, screw it, I'm going for the card as I want better!
Thanks for your advice and help.
Warframe: TheBaconDwarf
It's reasons like the one you describe which makes me always put my cases in an easily accessible location. I'm alway tinkering and tweaking, so maybe by putting my case out of view I'll finally get around to playing some games on it :P
Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better
bit.ly/2XQM1ke
Steam Support is the worst. Seriously, the worst
So, for 250ish should I get a 560ti or 6950 2gb card?
Thanks for the build - looks awesome.
I can bite the bullet on windows, but I was thinking of making some savings though - mainly the RAM and the case.
Looking through I think this case might work?
That would bring the cost to £25 over the original build - I'm happy enough with that
Well, one would hope it's nicer, considering it's twice as much. I think at that price range I'd be looking at something better than the 912. Although you guys seem to be screwed on price, if that website's any indication.
I had mentioned in the prior page:
snip:
It has happened in SW:TOR and The Witcher so I'm not sure the culprit.
You could go with a Zalman Z9 Plus. It's not as cheap as the Novatech Vulcan, but it has a much better set of features.
It's possible your monitor is the culprit, but I'd be really surprised. It's much more likely it's due to the game or graphics card. There's probably a way to test it, but I can't think of any off the top of my head. If you're only seeing it in those two games, well, you could try running something that pushes the system and see if you run into the same problems.
@101 yeah the zalman Z9 plus would be a much better case than that Vulcan you listed. The Vulcan isn't going to explode into flames or kill your family or anything like that, but it really strikes me as a cheap and nasty case
Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better
bit.ly/2XQM1ke
Wait wrong Vulcan
it is really cheap though, so that's always a plus.
None that I've read, I'm going off what people who have good opinions on things have told me and my own personal experience. Normally I wouldn't really bother recommending soundcards straight off the bat, but since he's specifically said that he's unsatisfied with the audio quality I think it'll be a good idea.
It should also go without saying that you have a quality set of 'phones, too
Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better
bit.ly/2XQM1ke
Just to chime in, I've noticed marked improvement moving my headphones to the back port. It's unclear how much improvement I'd get from the soundcard at this point, seeing as I'm already much happier. For whatever reason the front port makes the headphones really tinny and sharp. I'm using the Sony mdr 7506 headphones, which run around $80-$100.
Soon as I order another computer part, I'll probably get the sound card anyway and I'll definitely report back if the simple $30 investment gives any notable gains. According to some amateur reviews, the sound card allows the front port to not suck, too.
Warframe: TheBaconDwarf
A discrete sound card should help you even further in reducing the SNR as well as doing some other fancy stuff
Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better
bit.ly/2XQM1ke