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This topic has moved here: Subject: Want to build a PC? PC Building Guide and FAQ of The Flood
  • Subject: Want to build a PC? PC Building Guide and FAQ of The Flood
Subject: Want to build a PC? PC Building Guide and FAQ of The Flood


Posted by: OliG
I would recommend PCDino. That build that was up a couple of posts ago for £953 could be done for not even £700 and with an ivy bridge 3650k, or even the i7 equivilant is offered with good level graphics cards (most high end ones up to the gtx 580, not 590) for a very, very solid price point. If you look at the Veloce I5 package and take out the monitor, you could get the following for £967.71 (not including delivery, which is about £30)


I take it you meant this build?.

Well I just built the same again and it came to £4 cheaper - but would have delivery on top too.

I can't see it getting cheaper than what I had in mind for the quality I wanted...unless I went second hand, and I'm not in the mood to hedge my bets on my first ever build.

  • 06.21.2012 6:43 AM PDT

Also - quick question:

2 x NVIDIA GeForce GTX 550 Ti 1GB

or

1 x AMD Radeon 7850 2GB

Is there any way of deciding / calculating which would provide more juice visually?

  • 06.21.2012 6:46 AM PDT


Posted by: OliG
I would recommend PCDino. That build that was up a couple of posts ago for £953 could be done for not even £700 and with an ivy bridge 3650k, or even the i7 equivilant is offered with good level graphics cards (most high end ones up to the gtx 580, not 590) for a very, very solid price point. If you look at the Veloce I5 package and take out the monitor, you could get the following for £967.71 (not including delivery, which is about £30)

Intel Core i7 3770
Asus P8Z77-V LX Motherboard
8GB RAM
1TB sata 3 HDD
GTX 570
Logitech keyboard/mouse combo
Copy of win 7 Home Premium
Corsair Carbide 330R case
600W Xigamtek PSU

I recommend getting the i7 2600k and 6950 instead for similar performance and a good money savings. Alsot he 6950 can be flashed to beat out the 570

  • 06.21.2012 6:50 AM PDT


Posted by: EvilTaffyapple
Also - quick question:

2 x NVIDIA GeForce GTX 550 Ti 1GB

or

1 x AMD Radeon 7850 2GB

Is there any way of deciding / calculating which would provide more juice visually?

the 2 gtx 550ti's would be faster. Hoever, I would hate going SLI dealing with all those problems, the power consumption, and some games don't support it.

Just get a single 6950

[Edited on 06.21.2012 6:51 AM PDT]

  • 06.21.2012 6:50 AM PDT

God danging I finally just remembered to check for drivers for my Razer mouse that as been randomly turning on and off for the whole time I had it. Just installed an update to fix it =]

  • 06.21.2012 12:33 PM PDT


Posted by: kikashi hatake

Posted by: EvilTaffyapple
Also - quick question:

2 x NVIDIA GeForce GTX 550 Ti 1GB

or

1 x AMD Radeon 7850 2GB

Is there any way of deciding / calculating which would provide more juice visually?

the 2 gtx 550ti's would be faster. Hoever, I would hate going SLI dealing with all those problems, the power consumption, and some games don't support it.

Just get a single 6950


Cheers dude.

Is there any online calculator as such where I could work out stuff like this? Or is it a case of figuring stuff out for yourself over time?

  • 06.21.2012 12:35 PM PDT

I am assuming direct control.

Interesting thread. I would've enjoyed this when I first built my PC.
Specs:
8gb Corsair Vengeance
750W Corsair TX750
2x Nvidia GTX 570
Claro Halo sound card
i5 2500k OC @ 4.5GHz
Thermaltake Frio
1 Tb Seagate HDD
2x 60gb Corsair SSD
generic DVD-RW
3x Asus 21.5" 1080p monitors
Saitek backlit keyboard
Logitech G500
HD280 headphones

  • 06.21.2012 1:04 PM PDT

I want her...

This is the one I've settled on

ASRock Z77 Extreme4, Sockel 1155, ATX
WD Caviar Green 2TB Sata 6Gb/s
Intel Core i5-3570K Box, LGA1155
Samsung SSD 830 128GB SATA 6GB's
Sapphire HD 7850 OC 2GB GDDR5 PCI-Express
8GB-Kit Corsair Vengeance DDR3 1600 MHz

suits me just fine

  • 06.21.2012 1:20 PM PDT


Posted by: EvilTaffyapple

Posted by: kikashi hatake

Posted by: EvilTaffyapple
Also - quick question:

2 x NVIDIA GeForce GTX 550 Ti 1GB

or

1 x AMD Radeon 7850 2GB

Is there any way of deciding / calculating which would provide more juice visually?

the 2 gtx 550ti's would be faster. Hoever, I would hate going SLI dealing with all those problems, the power consumption, and some games don't support it.

Just get a single 6950


Cheers dude.

Is there any online calculator as such where I could work out stuff like this? Or is it a case of figuring stuff out for yourself over time?

Go to the bench marks and compare and contrast

Go fine the scores of the 2 gtx 550ti's, than fine the score of the 6950/7850

  • 06.21.2012 2:13 PM PDT
  • gamertag: [none]
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Well guys, a recent power out may have fried my Asrock 880GLE motherboard. My brother is coming down tomorrow to see if he can help me fix my PC.

But if we can't get my system going again, can anyone recommend a good AM3+ motherboard within the $80 - $120 price range? Preferably within the 9xx chipset.

Also, I could use a better quality PSU, so can anyone recommend one in the 400-500 watt range?

[Edited on 06.21.2012 3:51 PM PDT]

  • 06.21.2012 3:43 PM PDT

FLOOD QUOTES!
Posted by: G3N3RAL R3VAN
The Flood....... if it doesn't go anywhere else, stick it her pooper
Posted by: xflox231
Idiots. I'm surrounded by idiots
Posted by: ferrrari
the flood, there a bunch of jerks, but there my jerks.


Posted by: TopWargamer

Posted by: Ferrari DuDe856

Posted by: Beyond hope
What would you rate this build on a scale of 1/100?

Mmmm like 85/100. Why do you want an aftermarket CPU cooler if you aren't going to overclock? Why no SSD? Other than than very good.

And I'm not too tech savy, but how are you going to run 4x RAM modules, and unless you do heavy video/photo editing 16GB RAM is wayy more than you need.

While we're on this topic how does my build look?

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i7-3770K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($339.98 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: Asus P8Z77 WS ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($329.98 @ NCIX US)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($111.79 @ NCIX US)
Hard Drive: Western Digital Caviar Black 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($176.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Hard Drive: Crucial M4 256GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($199.99 @ B&H)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 670 4GB Video Card ($492.55 @ Newegg)
Case: Cooler Master HAF X ATX Full Tower Case ($159.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair 1200W ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($259.99 @ Amazon)
Optical Drive: Asus DVDE818A7T/BLK/B/GEN CD Reader, DVD Writer ($25.97 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Ultimate SP1 (64-bit) ($173.90 @ NCIX US)
Total: $2271.13
(Prices include shipping and discounts when available.)

I can make this build SO MUCH cheaper and give you more power. Would you like me too? And would it include the OS, monitor, mouse, and keyboard?

I like my selection, but go ahead I will give it a look.

[Edited on 06.21.2012 5:29 PM PDT]

  • 06.21.2012 5:28 PM PDT

Posted by: VaultDweller178

Posted by: CostlyAxis
Posted by: VaultDweller178
Currently, I have an i7 950 and an AMD 6870. I just want better gaming performance. I think I should opt for the GTX 680. My question is this: Would my i7 950 bottleneck the new card or reduce performance significantly compared to the newer Intel CPUs?

The GPU should still improve your performance, but if the CPU can't keep up, it just can't keep up. Also, the CPU does determine the PCI-e version that will be used where Ivy Bridge uses PCI-e 3.0 while Sandy Bridge uses PCI-e 2.0 in most cases.
Would the CPU keep me from maxing out nearly all games for awhile? I know some games are more CPU intensive, but the GPU plays a larger role. How much of a performance increase would I see if I upgraded to the new Ivy Bridge? Also, what issues arise with overclocking the CPU, assuming the heat is under control?

In case my previous edit was overlooked.

It would really depend on the game and how it utilizes the computer hardware. However, maxing out games usually takes at least a moderately decent processor even when backed by a nice GPU. Look at some of the games you're interested in and see what kind of processors they require for recommended configurations to get a general idea.

The Ivy Bridge apparently doubles the bandwidth that PCI-e can use over Sandy Bridge (if the motherboard supports it) so you'd get half the latency in the best scenarios if my understanding of that is correct.

When overclocking a CPU, the temperature is indeed a big factor, but so is electric pull and how much it's going to need at a consistent rate. Make sure you can also supply its higher power needs or else it will break very easily. It's also not very advisable to overclock the CPU to its absolute maximum ability.

  • 06.21.2012 5:37 PM PDT

Xbox LIVE gamertag: Dat3lessNutella
Steam username: TopWargamer
To look up my Halo stats...search for the gamertag TopWargamer.
SAVED THREAD PAGES: 283
One does not simply get rid of TopWargamer so easily.
You know this to be true.
ALL HAIL GABEN


Posted by: Ferrari DuDe856

Posted by: TopWargamer

Posted by: Ferrari DuDe856

Posted by: Beyond hope
What would you rate this build on a scale of 1/100?

Mmmm like 85/100. Why do you want an aftermarket CPU cooler if you aren't going to overclock? Why no SSD? Other than than very good.

And I'm not too tech savy, but how are you going to run 4x RAM modules, and unless you do heavy video/photo editing 16GB RAM is wayy more than you need.

While we're on this topic how does my build look?

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i7-3770K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($339.98 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: Asus P8Z77 WS ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($329.98 @ NCIX US)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($111.79 @ NCIX US)
Hard Drive: Western Digital Caviar Black 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($176.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Hard Drive: Crucial M4 256GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($199.99 @ B&H)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 670 4GB Video Card ($492.55 @ Newegg)
Case: Cooler Master HAF X ATX Full Tower Case ($159.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair 1200W ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($259.99 @ Amazon)
Optical Drive: Asus DVDE818A7T/BLK/B/GEN CD Reader, DVD Writer ($25.97 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Ultimate SP1 (64-bit) ($173.90 @ NCIX US)
Total: $2271.13
(Prices include shipping and discounts when available.)

I can make this build SO MUCH cheaper and give you more power. Would you like me too? And would it include the OS, monitor, mouse, and keyboard?

I like my selection, but go ahead I will give it a look.

Ok....give me a little bit of time. As of now i'm eating dinner, but after that I will link the parts.

  • 06.21.2012 5:46 PM PDT

Xbox LIVE gamertag: Dat3lessNutella
Steam username: TopWargamer
To look up my Halo stats...search for the gamertag TopWargamer.
SAVED THREAD PAGES: 283
One does not simply get rid of TopWargamer so easily.
You know this to be true.
ALL HAIL GABEN

Ferrari DuDe856

Here's that build.

Case
CPU
Motherboard
RAM
SSD
Hard drive
Optical drive
Graphics card
Power supply
OS

BUILD TOTAL: $2,060.56 (WITH shipping)

NOTE- If you wish to have a wireless card, go ahead and add one in. I was feeling too lazy this build around to add one in. You can one that goes up to 300mbps for like...$20 or $30 on Newegg.

Well, I made your build more powerful AND cheaper by $218.77.

You're welcome, and i'm glad that I could help.
:)

EDIT: Also, some of the items in this build will be cheaper because of rebate. Whenever I make a build for someone, I never add in rebate prices....I like the person to get a 'shock' when they see that everything is actually cheaper when they order the items.

So that build total price will go down, and the money you save will go up.

[Edited on 06.21.2012 6:32 PM PDT]

  • 06.21.2012 6:30 PM PDT

Ok so I built a computer a few months ago. For my graphics card I got a GTX550TI, its ok for a medium priced card. In a few weeks I will have enough money to buy a GTX670. Anyway I was wondering what you guys thought of this card and how much of a step up (In graphics) it would be from the GTX550ti to the GTX670.

  • 06.21.2012 6:32 PM PDT

Xbox LIVE gamertag: Dat3lessNutella
Steam username: TopWargamer
To look up my Halo stats...search for the gamertag TopWargamer.
SAVED THREAD PAGES: 283
One does not simply get rid of TopWargamer so easily.
You know this to be true.
ALL HAIL GABEN


Posted by: maverick S80
Ok so I built a computer a few months ago. For my graphics card I got a GTX550TI, its ok for a medium priced card. In a few weeks I will have enough money to buy a GTX670. Anyway I was wondering what you guys thought of this card and how much of a step up (In graphics) it would be from the GTX550ti to the GTX670.

Don't get the 670. Get the 580. It's a lot cheaper and is almost as good as the 670. You literally won't see a difference between the 2 besides the price.

Just trying to help you save your money.
:)

[Edited on 06.21.2012 6:37 PM PDT]

  • 06.21.2012 6:36 PM PDT
  •  | 
  • Exalted Legendary Member
  • gamertag: TB823
  • user homepage:

As you progress throughout your life you realize that the older you get the closer your are to death, the only thing you cannot change.

Well this is my build, I made a thread earlier, but was directed here. Is this a good build?

Rosewell Thor V2 Gaming ATX Full Tower case.

MSI Z77A-G45 LGA 1155

GTX 670 2GB

900W Antec Power supply bronze certified

i7-3770k

G-Skills 1600 DDR3 8gb

60GB SATA 3 Corsair SSD

Western Digital Caviar Black 7200 RPM 1 TB

Coolermaster Hyper 212 Plus

Linksys WMP 6000N

Asus 24x DVD burner

Windows 7 OEM

I need the Linksys since I'm not directly plugged into anything.


Also, is Windows 7 OEM shipped on a disc? And the reason for a high wattage power supply is because if I ever decide to upgrade or reuse the Power Supply I could do that. And the 3770k is the future proof it a little bit.

  • 06.21.2012 8:31 PM PDT
  • gamertag: [none]
  • user homepage:

Protip: If anyone here is in college or university, check to see if you can get a copy of Windows 7 discounted or free from your school.

My school lets me download it for free. All my systems are running 7 Pro 64bit.

  • 06.21.2012 8:44 PM PDT

Here's another desktop/workstation I'm purchasing today. Any recommendations.

This system mostly will be used for Visual Studio, MSSQL, Photoshop, Fireworks, Dreamweaver, Web Development, Outlook and 5 browsers.

Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-3770 Processor (3.50GHz,8MB)
16GB (4x4GB) DDR3 UDIMM Memory, 1600MHz, Non-ECC
256GB 2.5'' SATA3 Mobility Solid State Drive
2nd 256GB 2.5'' SATA3 Mobility Solid State Drive
Minitower Chassis Heatsink (95watts)
6X Slimline Blu-ray Burner
1 GB NVIDIA Quadro 600 (1DP & 1DVI-I) (1DP-DVI & 1DVI-VGA adapter) (3 monitor setup)

I'm thinking of upgrading CPU to XEON but don't think the value for money is there.

Thoughts? Changes?

  • 06.21.2012 10:59 PM PDT

Okay, new build

Went for the i7 CPU and the GTX670 GPU with this build, just in case I end up having a bit more cash for the build than I previously planned on.

Improvements? Suggestions?

  • 06.22.2012 6:18 AM PDT
  • gamertag: ALI217
  • user homepage:

I'm gonna finish it. Just like Jigga did to the pyramid.


Posted by: EvilTaffyapple
Okay, new build

Went for the i7 CPU and the GTX670 GPU with this build, just in case I end up having a bit more cash for the build than I previously planned on.

Improvements? Suggestions?



I would suggest you max out your ram - get 16gb of 2000mhz

  • 06.22.2012 6:20 AM PDT


Posted by: ALI217

Posted by: EvilTaffyapple
Okay, new build

Went for the i7 CPU and the GTX670 GPU with this build, just in case I end up having a bit more cash for the build than I previously planned on.

Improvements? Suggestions?



I would suggest you max out your ram - get 16gb of 2000mhz


Why?

8gb is overkill for anything and everything on the market right now. More than that would only be benfeicial if I was editing videos and stuff, which I won't be.

Besides, Ram is easy and cheap enough to buy down the line when I need it. This build was a future-proof build for a decent price.

  • 06.22.2012 6:30 AM PDT

Xbox LIVE gamertag: Dat3lessNutella
Steam username: TopWargamer
To look up my Halo stats...search for the gamertag TopWargamer.
SAVED THREAD PAGES: 283
One does not simply get rid of TopWargamer so easily.
You know this to be true.
ALL HAIL GABEN

Just curious....but why do people even by those quadro cards? They're expensive and hardly give you any power. It just doesn't make any sense.

  • 06.22.2012 9:50 AM PDT


Posted by: TopWargamer
Just curious....but why do people even by those quadro cards? They're expensive and hardly give you any power. It just doesn't make any sense.

They aren't for gaming. They run best on programs like CAD.

  • 06.22.2012 10:45 AM PDT

Please do not send me group invites.


Posted by: TopWargamer
Just curious....but why do people even by those quadro cards? They're expensive and hardly give you any power. It just doesn't make any sense.

Because they're not for gaming. They're for things like CAD, 3D modelling, etc.

edit: beat me to it...

[Edited on 06.22.2012 10:47 AM PDT]

  • 06.22.2012 10:46 AM PDT