PC Build Advice/Review Thread

[Prothescar]

Honestly there isn't very much distinction between a 670 and a 680 unless you're buying a reference 670; most non-reference 670s use 680 PCBs, so the difference between the two usually comes down to out-of-the-box clock speeds and the fact that even a high end non-reference 670 will cost significantly less than a comparable 680. 760 is about at the point of a reference 670, but not a 670 that you should actually be spending money on! At the moment you can get non-reference 670s for around $250 on Newegg making them about the same price as a non-reference 760; I'd go for a 760 just because it supports Boost 2.0 and stuff whereas 670/680s do not. A lot of it comes down to that sort of stuff, which you can't discern just from the name. Unfortunately naming schemes for all of the current gen GPUs are quite arbitrary that way. AMD is totally worse, though.

[Jojimbo]

Even a 670 on a 680 PCB isn't a 680, it's still lacking cores regardless of the PCB/frequency although performance was pretty close, I believe the gap between the 760 and 770 is larger though. And currently the cheapest 670 is a $266 Asus however there is also a $250 Asus 760.

[Prothescar]

it's mostly about power delivery efficiency when it comes to the pcb; you can, pound for pound, oc a non-reference 670 to be within 5% of an oc'd 680 for less money. a reference 670 would have a much harder time achieving that. just hope you don't get a bad oc'er

[shukudai]

I am likely hoping for a good deal this black friday / cyber monday. What concerns me is the prebuilts often have a single shitty thing you want to replace. crappy HDD, good GPU but mediocore CPU, etc, and when it comes to figuring out which tradeoff is acceptable, i just come here and ask

[Souj]

I'm barely pc literate when it comes to parts. The power to my pc no longer works. I press the power button and nothing at all happens. I'm assuming its the power supply. I was going to go to nearby stores to see if they have any. Am I going to need to have a very specific power supply with very specific specs or is the only thing I have to worry about the physical size of the thing in regards to fitting it in the case?

[Krandor]

Most power supplies are a fairly standard size unless you're dealing with gigantic behemoth computers.

The main thing you're looking for is how much it's outputing. It should be marked on the power supply you have, and you'll want to shoot for the same/higher number on the new one.

[Jojimbo]

Or really small PCs, low-profile/slim cases from OEMs often come with propitiatory form factors. What case/computer/components do you have? Speccy should be able to list them if you are unsure (other than the case anyway)

[Souj]

Lame, none of the pc parts stores around here are open on Sunday.

[Souj]

Went to a shop and they said the power supply tested fine and it may be a problem with the motherboard. :/

[Souj]

Now this is probably asking way too much but...
I'm looking to build a new pc (mostly from scratch) that can play more recent video games (but not necessarily on the highest settings) and I have absolutely no idea where to start.
What's the best, cheapest way I can make this happen? I really don't have a clue where to begin.

[Kalmado]

Now this is probably asking way too much but...
I'm looking to build a new pc (mostly from scratch) that can play more recent video games (but not necessarily on the highest settings) and I have absolutely no idea where to start.
What's the best, cheapest way I can make this happen? I really don't have a clue where to begin.

Do you have a Microcenter near you?

edit: and do you plan to overclock?

[Souj]

Not really. Maybe 80miles away, so it is feasible.

[Kalmado]

You could probably get by on this if you want an Intel build. Nothing special but it will do. Prices of course fluctuate and this is assuming you do not need monitor, mouse, keyboard, software. CPU+MOBO is a combo deal at Microcenter. If buying the same items on say Newegg I believe it would come closer to $285 for both.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($149.99)
Motherboard: ASRock Z77 Extreme4 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($84.99)
Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($52.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($54.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 760 2GB Video Card ($249.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Rosewill Challenger-U3 ATX Mid Tower Case ($24.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Antec High Current Gamer 620W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($49.99 @ NCIX US)
Optical Drive: LG GH24NSB0 DVD/CD Writer ($14.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $670.92
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-12-03 18:27 EST-0500)

[Kalmado]

Also, not sure if it's just pcpartspicker, but the cheapest AMD 7950 gpu was $240. A month ago those were $200 all day with prices as low as $170 after rebate.

[Jojimbo]

A lot of the HD 7000s are sold out, or on the verge of being sold out, and they aren't being manufactured anymore as they have been replaced by the R7/R9 line. And 3570k isn't worth it anymore outside of microcenter deals, $200+ anywhere but in store pick-up so you may as well get a 4670k.

[Kalmado]

Here is a cheap amd build. Again, nothing special but I'd be willing to bet you can play games decently.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD FX-6300 3.5GHz 6-Core Processor ($109.99)
Motherboard: Asus M5A97 LE R2.0 ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($54.99)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($54.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: PowerColor Radeon HD 7850 2GB Video Card ($109.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Rosewill Challenger-U3 ATX Mid Tower Case ($24.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: EVGA 600B 600W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($39.99 @ NCIX US)
Optical Drive: LG GH24NSB0 DVD/CD Writer ($14.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $459.92
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-12-03 18:34 EST-0500)

[Kalmado]

A lot of the HD 7000s are sold out, or on the verge of being sold out, and they aren't being manufactured anymore as they have been replaced by the R7/R9 line. And 3570k isn't worth it anymore outside of microcenter deals, $200+ anywhere but in store pick-up so you may as well get a 4670k.

Glad I grabbed mine when I did. Although, seeing some 670s for $200 made me a little sad. But getting my XFX 7950 after rebates and selling the amd gold package, it was only $120

I have a Rosewill Challenger case on the way for my HTPC build. For the cost I think it's a great case. I'm looking forward to getting it.

[Souj]

Thanks for the help. I shall look into some of this.

[Kalmado]

No problem! Jojimbo is quite savvy on parts as well. The cpu/mobo that I chose for both builds are somewhat dated, but will work for the budget oriented. It really helps if you can by part by part and snag deals as they come along.

I forgot to mention regarding the case is that it comes with 3 fans already installed. Granted they probably aren't the greatest, but still it saves money. Tigerdirect frequently has free after mail in rebate fans too.

[Bilopdop]

So I am using This Computer at the moment and was wondering if there is a decent Graphics Card upgrade I can shove in there.

I am mostly just playing FFXIV so anything that would make it easier to play would be great. Hopefully I won't need to upgrade my CPU or Power Supply too much to upgrade to a better Graphics card. If it would be better to just get a whole new computer than just upgrading small bits at a time I will probably just do that.