PC Build Advice/Review Thread

[Zeb]

Upgrading to an SSD is almost as good as upgrading to a 24+" 1440p ips monitor.

[Krandor]

I'm more of a believer in the power of 120hz then higher resolution.

I know Asus does have a 1440p/120hz/gsync monitor coming out there, which sounds just damn sexy.

[Boyiee]

Upgrading to an SSD is almost as good as upgrading to a 24+" 1440p ips monitor.

I'm more of a believer in the power of 120hz then higher resolution.

I know Asus does have a 1440p/120hz/gsync monitor coming out there, which sounds just damn sexy.

Thats already out, and its 144hz: http://www.amazon.com/PG278Q-27-Inch.../dp/B00MSOND8C

If you play FPS games, than yeah, the higher refresh rate and g-sync is the way to go... but if you play other games mostly, then you want the colors of a 1440p/1600p/quad hd/4k ips.

Since 4k doesn't really appeal unless its 40" or better, the 34inch ultrawide 21:9 3440 x 1440 LG 34UM95 is the monitor of choice for me.

http://media.bestofmicro.com/S/7/437...a-frontpic.jpg

Although I prefer the curved model.

Spoiler: show

http://www.lg.com/uk/images/monitors..._medium_04.jpg

[Not Kuno]

Laptop fought the good fight but finally bit the dust. Anyone got any suggestions for a laptop (that actually has win7 on it holy fuck) that is pretty cheap? Don't really need one for gaming (outside of small shit, I guess) but it does need to have its own numpad. I cant stand compact keyboards.

[Tea L'euphorie]

Laptop fought the good fight but finally bit the dust. Anyone got any suggestions for a laptop (that actually has win7 on it holy fuck) that is pretty cheap? Don't really need one for gaming (outside of small shit, I guess) but it does need to have its own numpad. I cant stand compact keyboards.

I was in the same boat as your not too long ago with my own laptop and I too can't stand win8. After realizing all of my local shops only carry laptops with win8, I found www.XOTICPC.com and was able to order a customized laptop to my liking, with win7, Sager base, and SSD. Give them a try! :D

[Jyoshi]

so i have this , MoBo and this GPU would it be okay to crossfire another 7770, or just get another GPU? also, would crossfireing in the pcie 2.0 x4 matter?

[Jojimbo]

What PSU do you have? I would personally just get another GPU, CFXing low-end GPU's suck when the games don't scale well or don't support it at all and it's less than ideal to run CFX on PCI-E 2.0 x4 (although with that GPU it might not matter as much).

For $141 you can get this R9-280 that is currently on offer, it would be faster than CFX HD 7770 and has much more vRAM (1GB is looking to be limiting for future releases even for 1080p), alternatively this R9-270 is on offer for $100 and is about as fast as CFX HD 7770 would be but is the same price as a single HD 7770, has more vRAM and is a single GPU.

[Ratatapa]

I think it's time to upgrade my PC been 2years. But even tho I work in IT, I don't follow up much on Hardware. So once again i'm turning over on BG

Here is what i need of a PC (i'm canadian so please use ca.partpicker.ca)

1) Running FFXIV at 60FPS without much problem with the highest settings
2) Since I do work at home I need space and memory to run some Virtual Machines
3) I want this PC to also act as a plex server so need space
4) Intel CPU only
5) Looking around 1k-1.5k BIG MAX (if you can go lower then 1k it's perfect)
6) I already have 2 21 inches monitors, so i won't need new
7) No Windows (wink)

any help on this plz

[Melena]

I spent approximately 1700 on my new rig, but I also bought a new monitor and keyboard, so your mileage can vary

Intel I5 Processor (not the OC Model)
MSI X97(I think Mobo)
Asus R9280 Graphics Card
8GB GSkill Ram
Samsung 840Evo SSD
WD 2TB HDD

[Aerin]

Gonna be building a rig for the first time. Have all the parts pretty much picked out and just waiting for them to go on sale.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-4790K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor ($328.97 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: Asus Maximus VI Hero ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($148.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($146.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 500GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($235.95 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Green 3TB 3.5" 5400RPM Internal Hard Drive ($102.93 @ Amazon)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 970 4GB Superclocked ACX 2.0 Video Card ($349.99 @ Amazon)
Case: NZXT Phantom (White) ATX Full Tower Case ($99.99 @ Micro Center)
Total: $1413.81

Already have an Antec 650W PSU that should do the job. Will probably get Windows 7 instead of 8.

[Jojimbo]

any help on this plz

Something like http://pcpartpicker.com/p/m3b6yc should work, with rest of budget spent on however many HDDs you need and 256GB or 512GB version of the SSD if you meant more space there. If it's too much then you could get an R9-280X rather than GTX 970, a locked i5/i7 + cheaper MB + no heatsink if you aren't interested in OCing or swap out the PSU for this CX600M which is currently on offer for $35. Case can be easily changed if you don't like the look of it, I just picked a relatively cheap one.

Gonna be building a rig for the first time. Have all the parts pretty much picked out and just waiting for them to go on sale.

That build is pretty good, assuming you need the i7/16GB RAM, but you could tweak a few things. I would go with a Crucial MX100 512GB rather than the 840 EVO, it's newer/faster/cheaper but if you do go with the 840 EVO then make sure to update it's firmware. MB is Z87 rather than Z97 so may need a BIOS upgrade out the box but I think you can at least boot into BIOS with that CPU, could look into Gigabyte Z79 G1.Sniper or Gaming 7 if you want a red Z97 MB. I would consider getting low profile RAM, but that depends what aftermarket heatsink you are getting, AIO's don't care about RAM fins but many larger air coolers won't fit (if you don't plan on OCing then you could get a cheaper CPU/MB), can also get 1866MHz sets for same price such as this G.Skill Sniper set which is on offer for $140 atm or there's this Kingston set for $140.

[Aerin]

That build is pretty good, assuming you need the i7/16GB RAM, but you could tweak a few things. I would go with a Crucial MX100 512GB rather than the 840 EVO, it's newer/faster/cheaper but if you do go with the 840 EVO then make sure to update it's firmware. MB is Z87 rather than Z97 so may need a BIOS upgrade out the box but I think you can at least boot into BIOS with that CPU, could look into Gigabyte Z79 G1.Sniper or Gaming 7 if you want a red Z97 MB. I would consider getting low profile RAM, but that depends what aftermarket heatsink you are getting, AIO's don't care about RAM fins but many larger air coolers won't fit (if you don't plan on OCing then you could get a cheaper CPU/MB), can also get 1866MHz sets for same price such as this G.Skill Sniper set which is on offer for $140 atm or there's this Kingston set for $140.

Hmm yeah, good call. I might take advantage of what newegg has for sale now. The G.Skill Sniper RAM, a Gigabyte GA-Z97X MB, and a liquid cooler.

Can't say I need the i7/16GB RAM, but I'd like this PC to last a long time and be able to run games on Ultra settings for a while too.

[Melena]

Honestly the I7 is ridiculous overkill unless you are doing a lot of multimedia work. Personally i'd go with the I5 if it's just gaming, even with everything else you can pretty much run everything on high/ultra with no issues.

[Jyoshi]

What PSU do you have? I would personally just get another GPU, CFXing low-end GPU's suck when the games don't scale well or don't support it at all and it's less than ideal to run CFX on PCI-E 2.0 x4 (although with that GPU it might not matter as much).

For $141 you can get this R9-280 that is currently on offer, it would be faster than CFX HD 7770 and has much more vRAM (1GB is looking to be limiting for future releases even for 1080p), alternatively this R9-270 is on offer for $100 and is about as fast as CFX HD 7770 would be but is the same price as a single HD 7770, has more vRAM and is a single GPU.

this is my PSU. the 2nd 7770 was an option since i saw one for sale for 80$ lol.

[Aerin]

Ended up going with this:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-4790K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor ($299.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z97X-UD5H ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($129.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Sniper Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($164.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 500GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($219.99 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Seagate 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Hybrid Internal Hard Drive ($101.04 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 970 4GB WINDFORCE Video Card ($369.99 @ Amazon)
Case: NZXT Phantom (White) ATX Full Tower Case ($99.99 @ Micro Center)
Optical Drive: LG WH14NS40 Blu-Ray/DVD/CD Writer ($53.98 @ OutletPC)
Total: $1426.96

Got the RAM when it was on sale for $140. Just waiting for the SSD to (hopefully) go on sale black friday.

[Adajer]

Blu-ray drive might gave been a waste. From what I hear, its hard-near impossible to get the codecs for play-back.

good call on cpu and gpu. you already own a psu?

[Aerin]

Yeah, already have a 650W Antec from the PC I have now. Might upgrade it later but don't feel the need to atm. The blu-ray drive is the only other part I haven't bought yet, was just going to get a regular one but I figured it was only $50 so why not.

[Krandor]

You can get VLC or other various media players working with a Blu-ray drive, but it's not a user friendly process.

After my most recent reformat I didn't bother and just use my consoles.

[RKenshin]

That's almost the exact build I have saved for when I get the chance to build a new PC... Looks good!

[Senji]

Don't forget cpu cooler.