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[Computer Build Thread] - Bemoan the passing of the old thread, but celebrate the new!

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    GnomeTankGnomeTank What the what? Portland, OregonRegistered User regular
    a5ehren wrote: »
    captaink wrote: »
    So now that I have to reinstall windows anyways, I was thinking of going ahead and installing it to an ssd. And maybe installing Windows 8.

    Ssd: The 840 Pro doesn't seem to be worth the extra bucks over an 840. At least not for gaming and general computing. I'm looking at the 250 gb models.

    Since windows 7 and 8 are both $100, might as well get 8 right? From what I understand its not that different from 7, and will be required for directx 11.1 or whatever.

    If you're paying for it either way, may as well get 8. If you find yourself hating the Start Screen, just install Classic Shell and you'll never see it again.

    But most likely, you'll actually learn to kind of like the Start Area, and the general overall snappyness of Windows 8 as a platform, and not switch back.

    Sagroth wrote: »
    Oh c'mon FyreWulff, no one's gonna pay to visit Uranus.
    Steam: Brainling, XBL / PSN: GnomeTank, NintendoID: Brainling, FF14: Zillius Rosh SFV: Brainling
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    The WolfmanThe Wolfman Registered User regular
    ...I hate computers.

    So the computer I ordered came in today. And sue me, for the sake of only 50 bucks, I opted for the installation and repair. Well, the thing gets here, and while I assume it worked fine when they tested it, the thing won't turn on. At all. I press the power and reset buttons and I get nothing. I don't think there are any internal speakers, so no beep, but not even the fans or hard drives spin up. Just dead silence.

    So while I sent them an email asking for help, because I gots a warranty and all, I figure I might as well try asking here too. Here are the specs.
    Zalman Z9 Plus ATX Mid Tower Case Black 3X5.25 1X3.5 5X3.5INT No PS w/ Fan Controller & Temp Display

    Corsair Gaming Series CMPSU-700G GS700 700w ATX Power Supply Active PFC 140mm Fan *3 Year Wrty*

    Kingston KHX1600C9D3B1K2/8GX 8GB Kit 2X4GB 1600MHz DDR3 240PIN DIMM Unbuff Hmp HyperX CL9

    Intel Core i5 3570K Unlocked Quad Core Processor LGA1155 3.4GHZ Ivy Bridge 6MB Retail

    ASUS P8Z77-V Lk ATX LGA1155 Z77 DDR3 3PCI-E16 2PCI-E1 3PCI SATA3 SLI DVI HDMI DP USB3.0 Motherboard

    Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB SATA 6GB/S 7200RPM 64MB Cache 3.5in Hard Drive OEM

    Samsung SH-224BB 24X SATA DVD Writer Black

    Kingston SVP200S37A/120G 120GB SSDNow V+200 SATA3 2.5 7MM Solid State Drive W/ADAPTER

    Microsoft Windows 8 64Bit Full Version English OEM

    Corsair Cooling Hydro Series H60 CPU Cooler System LGA1155 1366 1156 2011 AM2 AM3 FM1 & FM2

    I'm doing a complete go-over of everything. The motherboard has both power supply connecters in, the 24 pin and 8 pin. The RAM is in place. The hard drives and DVD all have power cables and SATA cables connected. All the case fans are plugged into the motherboard. I've even checked the actual power button on the detectable front. It's got two connections. One just goes to what I think is an LED soldered right onto the wires. Either way it goes nowhere. The other connection goes to the actual jumper marked POWER SW, and I've double checked the motherboard manual and it's in the proper pins. Just to confirm or exonerate my own stupidity, they're two wires, green and black, and it's the black that goes into the pin marked ground, right? Either way I've flipped them back and forth to be sure, but still nothing.

    There's just no reaction to anything. All I have is a small LED on the motherboard itself telling me that there's power getting to it at least. But no booting up at all. There's no stupid obvious connection I'm missing that might have jiggled out, either during shipping or during my own tinkering? Or am I really an idiot and forgot a vital piece of hardware? I know I'm missing the video card, but I'm just going to use onboard for the short term. But I triple checked I had all the relevant items to make a working computer.

    Any help you can give this moron would be appreciated. :)

    "The sausage of Green Earth explodes with flavor like the cannon of culinary delight."
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    PirusuPirusu Pierce Registered User regular
    edited January 2013
    Silly question, but on the back of the case, where the power supply is, there should be a physical switch for the power supply as well. Have you flipped this at all?

    Also, check to make sure the RAM is fully seated. Especially since it's an ASUS motherboard with their half-clip design, I could see it coming unseated during shipping.

    Pirusu on
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    Day of the BearDay of the Bear The Qun demandsRegistered User regular
    The motherboard shouldn't even have LEDs lit up if the PSU switch is in the off position.

    Although it deson't really hurt to check these things

    m6eoUgQ.jpg
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    The WolfmanThe Wolfman Registered User regular
    I'm dim, but not that dim. :)

    It was one of the first things I checked. But I checked both ways, just to make extra sure. I know there's power, because of the one LED on the motherboard lighting up. But that's it.

    "The sausage of Green Earth explodes with flavor like the cannon of culinary delight."
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    MadCaddyMadCaddy Registered User regular
    So, no one here has done anythng with ITX to give me any pro's towards it? I'm finishing up my HTPC setup and making it look pretty in the office area.. I still need to find a real good TV card/software package that'd work akin to the DirecTV or original TiVO setup... One of the biggest hiccups I've had in my whole plan is that I ended up switching over to FIOS TV from DirecTV and I have to basically relearn a bunch of the protocol/UI BS. I've heard good things about the Home something or other... That goes in a network and also they have that USB Happaupauge PVR at 1080i on sale again... I'm trying to be able to stream my DVR'ed shows, as well as live content from my home devices while I'm on the road. Anyone with pointers or experience in this space is appreciated.. I'd especially like to be able to maintain the HD 1080i quality if possible.

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    captainkcaptaink TexasRegistered User regular
    SSD/Win8/i5 is super sexy and quick

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    The WolfmanThe Wolfman Registered User regular
    Ok, I think I might know what the problem is. But I need a lesson in how a power button works.

    The button itself has 4 wires, leading into two connecters. Two wires are green and black and lead to one connector. When I trace this back, it leads to the jumper that plugs into the motherboard. The other two wires are green and white. When I trace this connector back, it leads to the two wires soldered to what looks like an LED. It just sits there dangling like it should plug into something, but obviously can't. I'll maybe try snapping a picture of it later. I don't know what it is, but it seemingly does nothing. Either way, near the power button itself, this white wire looks a bit frayed and exposed. Like it probably got pinched when putting the case front back on. I don't know if this would be whats causing the problem. The wire itself doesn't connect to a damn thing as far as I'm aware. In fact, I think the case manual says this just powers the button LED.

    It's just pissing me off that the thing won't turn on at all. I think at this point I might just take it into a shop real quick. Have somebody who knows more than I do take a quick 5 minute look to see if I'm not just missing some stupid little cable. And if it's anything more, I'm flexing the warranty and shipping it right back.

    "The sausage of Green Earth explodes with flavor like the cannon of culinary delight."
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    The WolfmanThe Wolfman Registered User regular
    And...I fixed it. And in the same way I fix everything, the way that always pisses me off:

    By not doing a damn thing different.

    I mean I jiggled a few cables, tried to make some more slack in some. But I already did that before and nothing happened. I hate it when I do this, because I learn absolutely nothing!

    Either way, posting from the new machine right now. I was using XP for freakin' forever. Never touched Vista or 7, so straight on to 8. And... god damn am I lost. I feel like I've been thrown into the deep end.

    And I wouldn't want it any other way. :) Time to pick a direction and swim.

    "The sausage of Green Earth explodes with flavor like the cannon of culinary delight."
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    Donovan PuppyfuckerDonovan Puppyfucker A dagger in the dark is worth a thousand swords in the morningRegistered User regular
    Win key + X is your friend!

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    urahonkyurahonky Registered User regular
    Sigh... So I exchanged the mobo/proc and it worked. The thing turned on... I got everything plugged in. Then (obviously) windows wouldn't load. So I went ahead and wiped the drive... Then all of a sudden it won't install to it. No matter what I try. I figure it was because of the upgrade disk, so I went to install Windows XP (since I have a full version of that) but as soon as it boots into the setup for XP it blue screens and tells me to run chkdsk /f.... obviously impossible if it doesn't boot into setup mode.

    So now I'm running diskpart > clean all on the HDD.

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    BlazeFireBlazeFire Registered User regular
    Is there anything I need to do as far as optimizing or configuring when it comes to SSDs? My googling shows lots of older (ca. 2010) articles on it. It is used in a Macbook for OSX 10.6 if that matters.

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    GriswoldGriswold that's rough, buddyRegistered User regular
    edited January 2013
    BlazeFire wrote: »
    Is there anything I need to do as far as optimizing or configuring when it comes to SSDs? My googling shows lots of older (ca. 2010) articles on it. It is used in a Macbook for OSX 10.6 if that matters.

    1) Install the latest firmware release - your SSD vendor should have instructions for updating this. If your SSD is going to be your boot drive, make sure to do this before installing an operating system on it.
    2) Never defrag your SSD. Ever.

    Griswold on
    FFXIV: Brick Shizzhouse - Zalera (Crystal)
    Path of Exile: snowcrash7
    MTG Arena: Snow_Crash#34179
    Battle.net: Snowcrash#1873
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    BlazeFireBlazeFire Registered User regular
    edited January 2013
    Griswold wrote: »
    BlazeFire wrote: »
    Is there anything I need to do as far as optimizing or configuring when it comes to SSDs? My googling shows lots of older (ca. 2010) articles on it. It is used in a Macbook for OSX 10.6 if that matters.

    1) Install the latest firmware release - your SSD vendor should have instructions for updating this. If your SSD is going to be your boot drive, make sure to do this before installing an operating system on it.
    2) Never defrag your SSD. Ever.

    Hm, poop. Definitely installed the OS before I thought about updating firmware. I guess it shouldn't be too bad to do again.

    Edit: I guess OCZ is pretty good about that and OSX can be installed already.

    BlazeFire on
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    captainkcaptaink TexasRegistered User regular
    BlazeFire wrote: »
    Griswold wrote: »
    BlazeFire wrote: »
    Is there anything I need to do as far as optimizing or configuring when it comes to SSDs? My googling shows lots of older (ca. 2010) articles on it. It is used in a Macbook for OSX 10.6 if that matters.

    1) Install the latest firmware release - your SSD vendor should have instructions for updating this. If your SSD is going to be your boot drive, make sure to do this before installing an operating system on it.
    2) Never defrag your SSD. Ever.

    Hm, poop. Definitely installed the OS before I thought about updating firmware. I guess it shouldn't be too bad to do again.

    I just updated mine post-OS install. It went okay. I think it is safer to do it before.

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    ElbasunuElbasunu Registered User regular
    Pc thread, is my Phenom 2 X4 CPU and nvidia gTS450 still cutting it? I recently got a $100 gift card and am thinking of doing an upgrade to my two year old build. I've also only got 4 gigs of ram on here...

    with Big Picture mode, I've recently been playing a lot more on my 32inch 1080p tv, so I'm leaning towards a more powerful graphics card...

    g1xfUKU.png?10zfegkyoor3b.png
    Steam ID: Obos Vent: Obos
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    urahonkyurahonky Registered User regular
    Wow this fucking processor/motherboard has been one ordeal after another. I cannot get fucking Windows 7 installed. I used diskpart to clean all, then I used diskpart to create a formatted partition then set it to active and it still will not fucking install. I'm so pissed off right now that I just want to put my old motherboard and processor back in and fucking return this i5.

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    urahonkyurahonky Registered User regular
    http://forums.penny-arcade.com/discussion/171950/installed-new-motherboardprocessor-now-windows-7-will-not-install-on-hdd

    I made a separate thread to keep this one from being mucked up... Could you guys take a look at it?

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    GasterGaster Registered User regular
    Greetings Computer Build Thread! Anyone have suggestions for a power supply for the following build?
    LITE-ON 24X DVD Writer Internal Model IHAS324 
      Item #: N82E16827106352
    
    COOLER MASTER Storm Enforcer SGC-1000-KWN1 Black SECC / ABS Plastic ATX Mid Tower Computer Case ATX PS2 / EPS 12V (optional ... 
       Item #: N82E16811119240
    
    GIGABYTE GV-N660OC-2GD GeForce GTX 660 2GB 192-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card 
        Item #: N82E16814125443
    
    Kingston HyperX 16GB (2 x 8GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 Desktop Memory XMP HyperX Blu Model KHX16C10B1K2/16X 
        Item #: N82E16820104318
    
    ASRock Z77 Pro3 LGA 1155 Intel Z77 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard 
        Item #: N82E16813157297
    
    Intel Core i5-3570K Ivy Bridge 3.4GHz (3.8GHz Turbo) LGA 1155 77W Quad-Core Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics 4000 BX80637I53570K 
        Item #: N82E16819116504
    
    Microsoft Windows 8 64-bit (Full Version) - OEM 
        Item #: N82E16832416550
    
    HGST Touro Mobile Pro 1TB Black External Hard Drive 0S03559 
        Item #: N82E16822145873
    
    Intel 335 Series SSDSC2CT240A4K5 2.5" 240GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) 
        Item #: N82E16820167128
    

    I'll be doing whatever minor overclock the stock cooler can handle, I'll never have more than 1 video card, and I will be potentially adding a couple more SSDs in the future as I fill the initial one up and price/size goes down. It's been a long time since I built a computer, will I need any extra cables/hardware?

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    Donovan PuppyfuckerDonovan Puppyfucker A dagger in the dark is worth a thousand swords in the morningRegistered User regular
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    AlectharAlecthar Alan Shore We're not territorial about that sort of thing, are we?Registered User regular
    So I bought a Noctua NHD14 that I'm planning on using in a new build soon(ish). I have to say, it's a beautiful piece of kit, and packaged brilliantly. I know that may not be a performance enhancer, but the clear care they put into how they're presenting this thing out of the box gives you a certain amount of confidence in the quality of the cooler itself. The parts bags are all clearly labelled (a "Common Parts" bag for the stuff any installation might need, then separate AMD and Intel installation bags), the instructions are clear, in color, there are separate booklets for Intel and AMD mounting.

    Like I said, it's not like that really helps performance, but it's nice to see someone really giving a shit about presentation.

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    StormwatcherStormwatcher Blegh BlughRegistered User regular
    and it's so silent.

    Steam: Stormwatcher | PSN: Stormwatcher33 | Switch: 5961-4777-3491
    camo_sig2.png
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    captainkcaptaink TexasRegistered User regular
    Gaster wrote: »
    Gaster wrote: »
    Greetings Computer Build Thread! Anyone have suggestions for a power supply for the following build?
    LITE-ON 24X DVD Writer Internal Model IHAS324 
      Item #: N82E16827106352
    
    COOLER MASTER Storm Enforcer SGC-1000-KWN1 Black SECC / ABS Plastic ATX Mid Tower Computer Case ATX PS2 / EPS 12V (optional ... 
       Item #: N82E16811119240
    
    GIGABYTE GV-N660OC-2GD GeForce GTX 660 2GB 192-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card 
        Item #: N82E16814125443
    
    Kingston HyperX 16GB (2 x 8GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 Desktop Memory XMP HyperX Blu Model KHX16C10B1K2/16X 
        Item #: N82E16820104318
    
    ASRock Z77 Pro3 LGA 1155 Intel Z77 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard 
        Item #: N82E16813157297
    
    Intel Core i5-3570K Ivy Bridge 3.4GHz (3.8GHz Turbo) LGA 1155 77W Quad-Core Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics 4000 BX80637I53570K 
        Item #: N82E16819116504
    
    Microsoft Windows 8 64-bit (Full Version) - OEM 
        Item #: N82E16832416550
    
    HGST Touro Mobile Pro 1TB Black External Hard Drive 0S03559 
        Item #: N82E16822145873
    
    Intel 335 Series SSDSC2CT240A4K5 2.5" 240GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) 
        Item #: N82E16820167128
    

    I'll be doing whatever minor overclock the stock cooler can handle, I'll never have more than 1 video card, and I will be potentially adding a couple more SSDs in the future as I fill the initial one up and price/size goes down. It's been a long time since I built a computer, will I need any extra cables/hardware?
    http://images10.newegg.com/BizIntell/tool/psucalc/index.html

    I like this tool. SSDs are actually very small power draw, much less than a standard hard drive.

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    BolthornBolthorn Registered User regular
    Looking for a modestly priced graphic card upgrade.
    Currently running a GIGABYTE GA-Z77X-UD3H motherboard with a 2500k in it.
    The current graphics card is my good trustly 5770.
    I was thinking of this:
    http://www.bestbuy.com/site/EVGA+-+GeForce+GTX+660+2GB+GDDR5+PCI+Express+3.0+Graphics+Card/6820043.p?id=1218808244387&skuId=6820043

    Now, you say, "Why would you buy from Best Buy?" well, I have a 20 reward certificate from when my parents bought a bunch of stuff there for my 3 year old for Christmas (an innotab, it's like a tablet for kids) and around 5 bucks left on an old gift card, so this brings the price down a bit. If anyone has a different recomendation, preferably from Best Buy so I can use those, I'm not dead set on this particular card.

    Thanks guys.

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    GasterGaster Registered User regular
    Thanks for the help.

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    Day of the BearDay of the Bear The Qun demandsRegistered User regular
    So the m500 960gig is supposed to be priced under $600

    Yeah, i'll definitely be holding off on getting more solid state until i can see how these work out once they're actually in the real world because dang.

    m6eoUgQ.jpg
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    FoomyFoomy Registered User regular
    I wouldn't be surprised to see 1TB or so sized ssd to be under $400 by the end of the year, popularity for ssd is going way up and that is driving the price down pretty steadily, there was around a 50% drop in $/gb pricing on ssd over the last year.

    Steam Profile: FoomyFooms
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    Day of the BearDay of the Bear The Qun demandsRegistered User regular
    edited January 2013
    The continual shrinking of process nodes is really helping drive increased caps too.

    Also the micron nand in those m500s is built on a joint micron/intel fab venture, and it's really tough to beat intel's fabs

    e: the best part about high cap SSDs hitting semi attainable prices is actually in the mobile space where you can't just stick another three drives in there to make up for only having 120gig per

    Day of the Bear on
    m6eoUgQ.jpg
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    AlectharAlecthar Alan Shore We're not territorial about that sort of thing, are we?Registered User regular
    If the performance on those M500 drives is good, I'm going to have almost 2TB of solid state storage in my next build. For reals.

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    AlectharAlecthar Alan Shore We're not territorial about that sort of thing, are we?Registered User regular
    Bolthorn wrote: »
    Bolthorn wrote: »
    Looking for a modestly priced graphic card upgrade.
    Currently running a GIGABYTE GA-Z77X-UD3H motherboard with a 2500k in it.
    The current graphics card is my good trustly 5770.
    I was thinking of this:
    http://www.bestbuy.com/site/EVGA+-+GeForce+GTX+660+2GB+GDDR5+PCI+Express+3.0+Graphics+Card/6820043.p?id=1218808244387&skuId=6820043

    Now, you say, "Why would you buy from Best Buy?" well, I have a 20 reward certificate from when my parents bought a bunch of stuff there for my 3 year old for Christmas (an innotab, it's like a tablet for kids) and around 5 bucks left on an old gift card, so this brings the price down a bit. If anyone has a different recomendation, preferably from Best Buy so I can use those, I'm not dead set on this particular card.

    Thanks guys.

    Do it.

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    a5ehrena5ehren AtlantaRegistered User regular
    And...I fixed it. And in the same way I fix everything, the way that always pisses me off:

    By not doing a damn thing different.

    I mean I jiggled a few cables, tried to make some more slack in some. But I already did that before and nothing happened. I hate it when I do this, because I learn absolutely nothing!

    Either way, posting from the new machine right now. I was using XP for freakin' forever. Never touched Vista or 7, so straight on to 8. And... god damn am I lost. I feel like I've been thrown into the deep end.

    And I wouldn't want it any other way. :) Time to pick a direction and swim.

    That frayed cable was probably shorting the 3.3V rail to GND, which will keep the board from booting. I'd unplug that cable from the board next time you have trouble booting.

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    Day of the BearDay of the Bear The Qun demandsRegistered User regular
    Alecthar wrote: »
    If the performance on those M500 drives is good, I'm going to have almost 2TB of solid state storage in my next build. For reals.


    I'll probably start with just the one, since it's not like adding more storage is difficult down the line.

    m6eoUgQ.jpg
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    AlectharAlecthar Alan Shore We're not territorial about that sort of thing, are we?Registered User regular
    Alecthar wrote: »
    If the performance on those M500 drives is good, I'm going to have almost 2TB of solid state storage in my next build. For reals.


    I'll probably start with just the one, since it's not like adding more storage is difficult down the line.

    Well I have to start with 2 for my RAID 0 array. Duh.

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    Day of the BearDay of the Bear The Qun demandsRegistered User regular
    oh yeah, true.

    m6eoUgQ.jpg
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    mere_immortalmere_immortal So tasty!Registered User regular
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    Day of the BearDay of the Bear The Qun demandsRegistered User regular
    Nope. The gigabyte card may run a little quieter, i know their triple fan coolers were very nice on some older cards but i haven't had any hands on time with their 600s.

    Definitely use the asus if space is at a premium as it isn't as long as the gigabyte.

    m6eoUgQ.jpg
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    emp123emp123 Registered User regular
    I think either Anandtech or TomsHardware found the Asus to be quieter, but by how much I dont know. Id probably go with the Asus just because of the sound thing, but they'll both do you fine.

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    StormwatcherStormwatcher Blegh BlughRegistered User regular
    I had to use XP again for a couple of months last year
    It was fucking horrible.
    Even Vista feels cluncky without the windows-snap shortcuts.

    Steam: Stormwatcher | PSN: Stormwatcher33 | Switch: 5961-4777-3491
    camo_sig2.png
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    WulfWulf Disciple of Tzeentch The Void... (New Jersey)Registered User regular
    Why haven't we started buttering up our credit cards for this yet?
    http://ces.cnet.com/8301-34435_1-57563244/microns-new-terabyte-class-ssd-is-under-$600/
    :drool:

    Everyone needs a little Chaos!
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    IncindiumIncindium Registered User regular
    Yeah I was already thinking about that new drive this morning... how hard is it to clone and copy from my current Samsung 830(256GB) to one of those or would I just be better off re-installing windows?

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    Nintendo ID: Incindium
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