Because if you're going to attempt to squeeze that big black monster into your slot you will need to be able to take at least 12 inches or else you're going to have a bad time...
All of this will go in my current case, after I dust it out. It's a good case, just needs a good cleaning. And I will be using my 250g HDD for backup storage. Also will be using my 8gigs ddr3 ram.
It may be next monday at the earliest that I will be able to order. So I appreciate any more advice in the meantime.
Want it a little cheaper? Get a combo deal with a different processor. I'm not sure overclocking is in your sphere anyway.
There are short 760 cards, like the ASUS 2gb GTX 760 at 8.6", short enough to fit in nearly all cases. You should be able to find it for about $250.
That said, I'm definitely of the opinion that you could skimp on the 760 and get a 660 or even cheaper, a 650 Ti Boost, and be just fine. You really won't notice the 14% performance drop from the 760 to a 2gb 650 Ti Boost.
The difference in price could get you a good case, like the Fractal Design R4 ATX case for about $110 (plus another $10 for a third 120mm fan). Once you've owned a quiet computer, you'll never go back to a loud one. Plus, it's much easier to build a new computer without ripping your old one completely apart.
The 650 should have carried the SE tag on it IMO.
Personally I would have gone with the EVGA dual fan version but if he wants to slam the longest card he can in thats up to him.
I will be re-using my RAM and HDD for backup storage.
It's a bit over my budget, but I may be able to swing it by the end of this week. The GPU gets 4,000 on benchmarks, compared to 5,000 on the 760. The 660 will still be about 4x better than my current card.
I really want this PC now. What do you guys think?
Micro atx won't have any effect on the pci-e slots or whether a gpu will fit or not. it's just the most popular/cheapest motherboard form factor at the moment.
I'm worried about that "micro ATX". I don't know if the size would work for the 760.
I've got a micro ATX board in my beat around rig and I'll snap a pic of what you'd be looking at in terms of size.
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Ok so a couple of things, first this is where my old components that I'm not currently using go to die or wait until they are sold, second I could give a fuck less about cable management because I'm not going to order a 4 pin extension or a bunch of other extensions for a beat around rig that I'm not using that often, and third and finally this is before I dusted out the rig so bleh.
For reference the video card is about 8 inches and its about 11 inches total from rear of case to HDD cages so I'd be lucky to fit an 10.75 card in there without having any rubbing issues. The cooler is a 212+ and it is Ripjaw heatspreaders on the ram so you do barely have enough clearance with that, the MATX board I'm using is slightly smaller than yours so expect about an extra inch or so in height to work with. It is a Rosewill Challenger case (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811147153) so you can pull the specs and go from there if you need any other reference points
That dust bunny at the back side of the case was from the bottom fan filter that I pulled off when I chucked it up on one of my workbenches.
The reviews on the mobo I picked mention that it's not very easy to install and might have problems with windows 7 suspend mode...?
Any suggestions for a quality motherboard? I guess any size ATX is fine.
@iRevert - Thanks for the pic. If you are sure there won't be any size problems with my 760 than maybe I will get a mini-ATX. That CPU cooler is huge! I didn't know they where that big. I took mine out of my build to fit in that $50 corsair case. How important are they to have?
If you aren't overclocking the CPU cooler isn't that important, I like it as I can swap fans in about 30 seconds if something happens to it. It also helps with airflow and keeps my CPU cooler under load. You aren't overclocking so it isn't that big of a deal if you skip it but most of us would recommend it just for the temp drop and stability (of temps) it brings when gaming.
The big thing to pay attention to is how deep the case is, in this case (pun intended) the cooler damn near touches the side panel.
You just need to measure your case and see how much space you have to work with, worst case you cut out some of the HDD caddy to make room for it. Newer cases and "higher end" (higher priced) cases tend to offer more room for both cable management and larger cards. You won't have an issue with a MaTX board or even a ITX board (which is even smaller) fitting a GPU like that it's the case you need to pay attention to.
They are called tower coolers for a reason....
The other thing to think about is that the ATX mobo will have more room for you to work with, whereas the MaTX will be a bit more cramped (like my pic shows). You don't really lose out on much but the ATX board will offer a little more real estate to work with so its up to you on it.
The reviews on the mobo I picked mention that it's not very easy to install and might have problems with windows 7 suspend mode...?
Any suggestions for a quality motherboard? I guess any size ATX is fine.
@iRevert - Thanks for the pic. If you are sure there won't be any size problems with my 760 than maybe I will get a mini-ATX. That CPU cooler is huge! I didn't know they where that big. I took mine out of my build to fit in that $50 corsair case. How important are they to have?
The CPU cooler being huge is what helps it be quieter; it spreads the heat out over a very large surface area so that a bigger fan spinning slower can cool the CPU well. Try the stock heatsink (it provides plenty of cooling power) and if you are annoyed by the noise you can always get an aftermarket cooler later.
The only difference between those two cards is that the MSI card is slightly overclocked.
The one thing I'd like to mention is you might want to consider a modular PSU to cut down on cable clutter. It would add about $10 to your budget if you catch it on sale and it saves you from the rats nest you tend to get with non-modular PSUs
However considering how many devices you will be using (in terms of fans, HDD/SSDs, and GPU) you really don't need it. So I would instead focus on a case with good cable management and zip ties or sticky tabs.
Ok, another question. How do I pick the wattage I need for my power supply? I put all my parts together on pc part picker, and it says 300 watts, but that seems kind of low, relative to the power supplies I see for sale. Does the wattage fluctuate a lot? Or do I only need a 4-500 watt one?
Ok, another question. How do I pick the wattage I need for my power supply? I put all my parts together on pc part picker, and it says 300 watts, but that seems kind of low, relative to the power supplies I see for sale. Does the wattage fluctuate a lot? Or do I only need a 4-500 watt one?
That would be plenty. CPU power draws have come down, really the only thing drawing a lot of watts is the video card(s).
Ok, another question. How do I pick the wattage I need for my power supply? I put all my parts together on pc part picker, and it says 300 watts, but that seems kind of low, relative to the power supplies I see for sale. Does the wattage fluctuate a lot? Or do I only need a 4-500 watt one?
A few things to keep in mind, your PSU isn't pulling 500w all the time it just means it can safely draw 500w before having issues so getting a larger PSU isn't going to hurt you. Secondly your PSU isn't going to be perfectly 300w or 500w, figure about a 10% loss at minimum from advertised wattage with that gap closing with more reliable brands. My 550w PSU will cut out when it hits 500w and I get a shutdown. Give yourself some wiggle room to compensate for this AND for if you want to add things (SSD, HDD, or second GPU) down the road.
This article frustrates me. There is nothing "unbalanced" about an i5-4570 on a Z87 board. I'm running a Q9400 on an Asus P5Q Deluxe, with a 7950 and two Samsung 840 SSDs. That's unbalanced.
Also, the vidcard he picked out is exorbitant, to say the least.
I mean, I get it, but if you're trying to show that a hard drive upgrade and a GPU upgrade are all you need in the short term, don't use a CPU and chipset that are barely a year old. Also, I'd argue that an i3 is likely sufficient for probably 80% or so of games to run at high res/framerate simply because the vidcard does so much of the heavy lifting on more modern games.
This article frustrates me. There is nothing "unbalanced" about an i5-4570 on a Z87 board. I'm running a Q9400 on an Asus P5Q Deluxe, with a 7950 and two Samsung 840 SSDs. That's unbalanced.
Also, the vidcard he picked out is exorbitant, to say the least.
I mean, I get it, but if you're trying to show that a hard drive upgrade and a GPU upgrade are all you need in the short term, don't use a CPU and chipset that are barely a year old. Also, I'd argue that an i3 is likely sufficient for probably 80% or so of games to run at high res/framerate simply because the vidcard does so much of the heavy lifting on more modern games.
I'm running an i3 and haven't had an issue with CPU bottlenecking, so I'd say your argument is pretty sound.
I think the argument is sound as long as you don't have an old system without UEFI (for fast boots) or something with deficient RAM, etc. But yeah, they should have put something together with an older chip!
I have been considering a new build for a while, but can't bite the bullet and go for it. I am basically running the same build from January 2010! with an SSD upgrade. It's kind of amazing that it plays so many new-ish games as well as it does.
Posts
Want it a little cheaper? Get a combo deal with a different processor. I'm not sure overclocking is in your sphere anyway.
CPU/PSU Combo: http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.1429160
Also I am confused by your motherboard choice, I don't see the point in paying for the "FATAL1TY" edition of anything.
ASRock H87: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157383
Micro ATX: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157385 - I like the fact that this one has optical audio out in case you get a DAC for headphones or hook it up to a real stereo.
Also, what operating system do you have now? If you have 7 or 8 then stick with that, XP you should definitely upgrade from.
The 650 should have carried the SE tag on it IMO.
Personally I would have gone with the EVGA dual fan version but if he wants to slam the longest card he can in thats up to him.
- Windows 7
- 8gig DDR3 ram
- AMD Phenom IIx4 955 3.2ghz
- Radeon 5700 HD 2gig
- 250g HDD
- 585W Orion power supply
And here is the new rig (with changes made based on suggestions):
CPU: Intel Core i5-4570 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($199.99 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus 76.8 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($19.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock Z87 Pro3 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($94.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($99.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 660 2GB Video Card ($185.66 @ Newegg)
Case: Corsair Vengeance C70 (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($109.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair Builder 500W 80 PLUS Certified ATX12V Power Supply ($39.99 @ Newegg)
Other: BYTECC Bracket-35225 2.5 Inch HDD/SSD Mounting Kit For 3.5" Drive Bay or Enclosure ($5.99)
Total: $721.59
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-09-24 10:56 EDT-0400)
I will be re-using my RAM and HDD for backup storage.
It's a bit over my budget, but I may be able to swing it by the end of this week. The GPU gets 4,000 on benchmarks, compared to 5,000 on the 760. The 660 will still be about 4x better than my current card.
I really want this PC now. What do you guys think?
Case ($50): http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811139018
You won't need the drive bay adapter since any new case has mounting points for a 2.5" SSD
If you go with the PSU/CPU combo I listed above (http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.1429160) you will save $18 plus you get the $20 rebate from the power supply (already counted by you).
So that's $84 saved.
You can take that $84 to the bank or you could get a GTX 760 or you could get this AMD card that comes with free games (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150671).
What do you guys think of this motherboard? Its cheap, the right socket and doesn't seem to be any sort of "xtreme" OC edition:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157387
I think you're starting to get the swing of things!
I definitely know a lot more now thanks to you guys!
I'm worried about that "micro ATX". I don't know if the size would work for the 760.
I've got a micro ATX board in my beat around rig and I'll snap a pic of what you'd be looking at in terms of size.
---
Ok so a couple of things, first this is where my old components that I'm not currently using go to die or wait until they are sold, second I could give a fuck less about cable management because I'm not going to order a 4 pin extension or a bunch of other extensions for a beat around rig that I'm not using that often, and third and finally this is before I dusted out the rig so bleh.
For reference the video card is about 8 inches and its about 11 inches total from rear of case to HDD cages so I'd be lucky to fit an 10.75 card in there without having any rubbing issues. The cooler is a 212+ and it is Ripjaw heatspreaders on the ram so you do barely have enough clearance with that, the MATX board I'm using is slightly smaller than yours so expect about an extra inch or so in height to work with. It is a Rosewill Challenger case (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811147153) so you can pull the specs and go from there if you need any other reference points
That dust bunny at the back side of the case was from the bottom fan filter that I pulled off when I chucked it up on one of my workbenches.
Given shipping and rebates, that costs more than the one he picked...
That's actually why I didn't suggest anything else, I was going for non-B85 and there didn't seem to be much that was cheaper.
Any suggestions for a quality motherboard? I guess any size ATX is fine.
@iRevert - Thanks for the pic. If you are sure there won't be any size problems with my 760 than maybe I will get a mini-ATX. That CPU cooler is huge! I didn't know they where that big. I took mine out of my build to fit in that $50 corsair case. How important are they to have?
Also, I want the best quality 760, are their any differences between the brand names? Is this MSI 760 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127745) the exact same as this EVGA one? (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130933)
The big thing to pay attention to is how deep the case is, in this case (pun intended) the cooler damn near touches the side panel.
You just need to measure your case and see how much space you have to work with, worst case you cut out some of the HDD caddy to make room for it. Newer cases and "higher end" (higher priced) cases tend to offer more room for both cable management and larger cards. You won't have an issue with a MaTX board or even a ITX board (which is even smaller) fitting a GPU like that it's the case you need to pay attention to.
They are called tower coolers for a reason....
The other thing to think about is that the ATX mobo will have more room for you to work with, whereas the MaTX will be a bit more cramped (like my pic shows). You don't really lose out on much but the ATX board will offer a little more real estate to work with so its up to you on it.
The CPU cooler being huge is what helps it be quieter; it spreads the heat out over a very large surface area so that a bigger fan spinning slower can cool the CPU well. Try the stock heatsink (it provides plenty of cooling power) and if you are annoyed by the noise you can always get an aftermarket cooler later.
The only difference between those two cards is that the MSI card is slightly overclocked.
However considering how many devices you will be using (in terms of fans, HDD/SSDs, and GPU) you really don't need it. So I would instead focus on a case with good cable management and zip ties or sticky tabs.
Thanks for all the help, you guys are awesome!
May I recommend, instead, Velcro Ties?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA14P0BT9726
What do you mean by "2x4"?
Oh, awesome! These will be way better.
The extra mass really makes the job so much easier. Remember you've gotta work smarter, not harder!
I assume this is a problem, but of course if I open it up I void the warranty. What should I do?
i ordered a 212 EVO
RMA dat sucker.
I realized that should've been the obvious answer :?
Everything else is already in the case, so just waiting on this. Hopefully I can finish the build tomorrow
I'd more than likely RMA it just to be safe.
I used a 24 oz Estwing...
That would be plenty. CPU power draws have come down, really the only thing drawing a lot of watts is the video card(s).
A few things to keep in mind, your PSU isn't pulling 500w all the time it just means it can safely draw 500w before having issues so getting a larger PSU isn't going to hurt you. Secondly your PSU isn't going to be perfectly 300w or 500w, figure about a 10% loss at minimum from advertised wattage with that gap closing with more reliable brands. My 550w PSU will cut out when it hits 500w and I get a shutdown. Give yourself some wiggle room to compensate for this AND for if you want to add things (SSD, HDD, or second GPU) down the road.
Depending on parts list I would more than likely go with a 430w PSU if it's saying only 300w draw total, it would only be $25 after MIR
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139026
and it gives you the extra headroom and room for (some) growth down the road.
Personally I'm a Gransfors Bruks man myself but to each their own.
This article frustrates me. There is nothing "unbalanced" about an i5-4570 on a Z87 board. I'm running a Q9400 on an Asus P5Q Deluxe, with a 7950 and two Samsung 840 SSDs. That's unbalanced.
Also, the vidcard he picked out is exorbitant, to say the least.
I mean, I get it, but if you're trying to show that a hard drive upgrade and a GPU upgrade are all you need in the short term, don't use a CPU and chipset that are barely a year old. Also, I'd argue that an i3 is likely sufficient for probably 80% or so of games to run at high res/framerate simply because the vidcard does so much of the heavy lifting on more modern games.
I'm running an i3 and haven't had an issue with CPU bottlenecking, so I'd say your argument is pretty sound.
I have been considering a new build for a while, but can't bite the bullet and go for it. I am basically running the same build from January 2010! with an SSD upgrade. It's kind of amazing that it plays so many new-ish games as well as it does.