PC Build Advice/Review Thread

[geno]

Yeah, lot of desktop enthusiasts seem disappointed by its potential as an OC chip, and just its improvement overall. Definitely a less impressive upgrade than previous generations, Intel seems considerably less interested in the desktop enthusiast market overall.

Still, it is better clock for clock than previous chips, so even if it doesn't overclock as easily, it should still be better. It's just that it might not be worth the upgrade from a recent generation or just for it's price. I grabbed mine from that sick Microcenter deal though and am upgrading from a Core 2 Duo, so yeah... it'll end up being a world of difference for me.

[Cantih]

Alright, thanks Dngn and geno.
I'll grab that, and ooh, there's a MIR on the 200R case as well.

Only a few pieces left to go =D

[Don Katsu]

So I got a $100 gift card for Amazon and I'm going to use that to buy memory. I already two sticks of DDR3 at 2GB each so I need two more. PC10666 CL= 9-9-9-24

Any good deals on that?

I plan to pick up an i7 at Microcenter this weekend

[Adajer]

I doubt your old ram will be compatible. buy a 2x4gb 1600mhz set and call it a day

[Don Katsu]

The RAM was given to me from a friend with a LGA 1155 board, he replaced these modules with two 4GB, it's compatible. But looking at what's available I might want to just buy a 16GB Kit since I'm getting the processor and mobo from Microcenter anyway

Also, I should be ok with the Hyper212 EVO to cool the 4770K yes?

[izembo]

yes

[Cantih]

Hmm.
I have the opportunity to get 8GB of RAM for $37, but it's a single stick. I don't really have plans to ever step up to 16GB.
Should I wait for a similar deal for some 2x4GB sticks to run in dual channel for the extra performance gain?

[Nitsuki]

always dual channel imo

[GoggleHead]

I'm currently running a GTX 460 and I'm contemplating upgrading to something from the 600 series. Is the GTX 670 really such a huge jump from the 660 that it justifies the extra $100 or should I just roll with a GTX 660 as it'll presumably still be a solid upgrade from what I currently have?

[Adajer]

If you are going to buy a 670 at retail price, you might as well get a 770. I could sell you my 670 for $325 if you really want a 670. Shipping on me if you live in U.S.

[Cantih]

From everything I've gathered, and my plans personally, is if you get anything below a 670 or it's Radeon equivalent, (or 770 for next gen) you must be prepared to eventually put in a second graphics card.
And keep in mind, I'm not a 2560x1440 or 1600 resolution, min 60fps head. I'm happy with 1080p, min 30fps, and max settings .

[Darthvoltrius]

Hello, I've been wanting to upgrade my PC for a while and have been doing little by little, I have been looking now into CPU/Motherboard as my next to upgrade and have been looking around and these look like good deals:

http://www.microcenter.com/site/bran...-bundles.aspx#

Basically I'm in between getting the new 4th gen Intel or 3rd gen, I've read the new ones aren't that amazing/must have for gaming, I plan on playing FF14 ARR, BF4 when it comes out and some new games that are good here and there, If anyone knows of something better let me know!

Here as my current PC specs

OS: Windows 7 Home Premium 64bit
CPU: AMD Phenom II x4 955
Motherboard: ASUSTeK Computer INC. M4A89GTD-PRO/USB3
RAM: 8GB
GPU: GTX 670
HDD: 640GB (Will upgrade later to 2TB)
PSU: 750w Corsair

Let me know if I missed something important

Also my I had asked a friend if a SSD is necessary and he said it makes your shit faster, so I ask would a 120gb SSD be alright or go for the 240gb ? If I get an SSD it would be later since imo it isnt as important as when I upped my RAM and GPU.

[Cantih]

They're fine for gaming. And if you can physically walk in to MicroCenter those are the best deals.
Looking around at reports coming in, Haswell's (the new ones) main weakness is they don't overclock to the same degree as Ivy or Sandy Bridge (unless you hit the silicon lottery, don't depend on breaking 4.3 GHz). Part of it is just architecture, but the other is it seems Intel skimped just a little on the material between the chip and the lid/heat spreader.

If you're brave/crazy/skilled/rich enough to delid the CPU and put better stuff in there, it can see gains like the older ones. (I must stress, this is madman shit. Next thing you know you're cooling with liquid nitrogen.)
If you aren't overclocking to the edge, then it's a non-issue. Then it's just a matter of price you can get versus stock performance for the generations, and you can find reviews for that at the normal sites.

[geno]

I just finished up my overclock on my 4770K, it's pretty stable and cool at 4.4GHz, 1.2volts. Tried to get 4.5GHz, but I had to up my voltage to nearly 1.3 just to get into Windows, and my H100i couldn't really deal with the heat the thing was putting out in any case.

Think that puts my chip just around average from what I can tell, maybe slightly above. Pretty happy with that, considering my e8400 was a significant underperformer, especially for it's generation.

[TSFFXI]

And if you can physically walk in to MicroCenter those are the best deals.

Sales tax eats up a lot of the savings. If only there were a microcenter in New Hampshire.

[Cantih]

Well, all (but one of) the pieces are in. No changes now, but how'd you think I did? (Yes, it's pretty cookie cutter.)

Spoiler: show

CPU: Intel Core i5-4670K
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO
Motherboard: ASUS Z87-A
Memory: Crucial Ballistix Tactical LP 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory CL8
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM
Case: Corsair 200R
Power Supply: Corsair TX850M 850W 80 PLUS Bronze
Optical Drive: ASUS DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS
Monitor: ASUS VH238H

My out of pocket was $846.42 after taxes and I have $60 in rebates coming my way, so the price is $786. Considering my price range for a graphics card is $250, I'm nearly on target for the 1k I wanted to stick to. (I'd be happier if it were lower, but who wouldn't.)

Just waiting on the 760 cards to see the light of day, then any news/price competition on Radeon. I may be without a card for a number of months, but Intel's integrated is still WAY better than the performance of what I've got in this laptop.

Now to just assemble the thing. I'll be using the guides listed at Reddit's buildapc, but if you lot have any advice, it'd be welcome.

Also, I broke. I'll use the Windows 7 *cough* version BG recommended to me. Any PMs regarding the installation process from someone who does it frequently, and recently (dealing with UEFI), would be appreciated.

Lastly, once it's up and running it should be good since there will be no prebuilt PC bloatware, but are there any Windows tweaks to boost performance? Stuff to enable or disable.

Oh, and what's the current favored set of anti-virus and spy/malware protection? Good AND not resource intensive are checkpoints. Anything else important I should get on the machine ASAP?

[Day]

Hows this looking? http://pcpartpicker.com/p/15hf8

Trying to stay around 600, already have harddrives.

Close enough to Microcenter for walkins.

[Conrad]

Well, all (but one of) the pieces are in. No changes now, but how'd you think I did? (Yes, it's pretty cookie cutter.)

Spoiler: show

CPU: Intel Core i5-4670K
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO
Motherboard: ASUS Z87-A
Memory: Crucial Ballistix Tactical LP 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory CL8
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM
Case: Corsair 200R
Power Supply: Corsair TX850M 850W 80 PLUS Bronze
Optical Drive: ASUS DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS
Monitor: ASUS VH238H

My out of pocket was $846.42 after taxes and I have $60 in rebates coming my way, so the price is $786. Considering my price range for a graphics card is $250, I'm nearly on target for the 1k I wanted to stick to. (I'd be happier if it were lower, but who wouldn't.)

Just waiting on the 760 cards to see the light of day, then any news/price competition on Radeon. I may be without a card for a number of months, but Intel's integrated is still WAY better than the performance of what I've got in this laptop.

Now to just assemble the thing. I'll be using the guides listed at Reddit's buildapc, but if you lot have any advice, it'd be welcome.

Also, I broke. I'll use the Windows 7 *cough* version BG recommended to me. Any PMs regarding the installation process from someone who does it frequently, and recently (dealing with UEFI), would be appreciated.

Lastly, once it's up and running it should be good since there will be no prebuilt PC bloatware, but are there any Windows tweaks to boost performance? Stuff to enable or disable.

Oh, and what's the current favored set of anti-virus and spy/malware protection? Good AND not resource intensive are checkpoints. Anything else important I should get on the machine ASAP?

Wow, our builds are surprisingly similar, minus the graphics cards.

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/15iwV

I'm partial to Avast, Malwarebytes, and Super-Antispyware as my preferred programs. I'd just consult ninite.com for any other freeware essentials you may need.

[geno]

I'll second ninite.com as an amazing tool. Hunting out and installing all the stuff you can grab on there used to be such a pain in the ass, so glad I don't have to do that anymore.

I don't really use all that much in the way of anti-virus anymore as I'm the only one who uses this computer and I'm pretty careful, but I'm partial to Nod32 and Malwarebytes. Not sure what is currently the go-to though.

Installing windows is pretty straightforward, especially the umm *cough* recommended version. Usually they are just click-straight-through, but depending on your source, consult any .txt or .nfo for additional info and after-the-installation work that needs to be done.

I think most Windows tweaks are going to be mainly a matter of preference. That's usually where I spend a lot of my time on a new build, messing with start menu options, file and folder settings, adding back a quick launch bar, getting networking setup correctly, etc.

I checked out most of the installation video r/buildapc links in the side-bar, and there really isn't much I would add. Building a pc is really quite easy, and any particular tips I can think of were covered by the newegg guy.

[Cantih]

IT LIVES! (posting live from it now) everything post... well, POST, went smoothly.

I fucked up the I/O shield. Nothing said bending the tabs was necessary, cba to pull everything out, so I just dug two offending ones out of the Ethernet port and a USB port, everything else is clear.
Thermal paste is fucking scary. Also, because I couldn't see, it was misaligned when I first put it down, the mounting jumped off the center ridge of the 212 EVO's pipe block. I had to lift the thing up then put it back down. I hope that doesn't bugger the material up once it needs to perform under load. (Also, putting the fan back on the cooler made the cooler shift a bit, freaked me out).

One issue there though, when I first turned it on and got the EFI bios, setting the fan speed to turbo didn't do anything. The EVO's fan is supposed to be in the 600-2000 RPM range, but it won't seem to budge past 750. What do?
(Oh, and as I want to keep an eye on this while I put it through paces, whats a good and simple desktop thinger for monitoring temperatures and fan speeds?)

Considering the expectations of it, and that over time I plan to upgrade with a graphics card, then maybe a SSD, then another card, and ultimately reusing pieces in a far future uberbuild, I can think of no more proper name for the current build than Lagann. May it put Hyatt and Shu to shame, not like that's a challenge or anything.
Oh my god though, good components, proper installs, IT'S SO FAST AND RESPONSIVE.