PC Build Advice/Review Thread

[Elizara]

Still trying to debug my newish system. Next thing that might be wrong: The memory. I got the memory chips i got for free, so ponying up some $$ for that is not a huge deal. The MB is a ASRock Z77 Extreme3. Any deals or recommendations on brands? I'm sure I can rep that myself without my brother (who's on vacation as a Magfest stevedore right now).

I'm just not sure if I want to buy Crucial again if they make crappy memory like that. ^^ Well, even tho I got it for free, I'm not sure if I want to get that brand again.

[Kalmado]

I'm using Corsair Vengeance LP 1866 in my gaming rig and so far no issues. Have some Gskill Ripjaw 1866 on deck for the gaming pc I'm building to sell. I'll know in a few weeks how that works, but reviews are glowing for it. Ram seems to be on the high side currently. If you can wait for a deal, I'd suggest that. Lowest 8gb 9 CAS ram I'm seeing is around $65 give or take a few bucks. 11/25/13 I purchased the Gskill for $48 after promo code at Newegg.
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Sold my XFX Double D for $320. Ended up purchasing a MSI Twin Frozr 770 for $288 plus the three free games(which I'll sell). Should get it this Friday. I'm pumped!

[Adajer]

I have some 8gb g.skill 1600 sniper RAM i took out of my z77 extreme4. You could buy if you want. I upgraded to 16gb

[Kalmado]

I have some 8gb g.skill 1600 sniper RAM i took out of my z77 extreme4. You could buy if you want. I upgraded to 16gb

PM me what you need for it. I'm possibly in the market for some ram if the price is right.

[Patb]

About time for me to build a new system, was wondering if anyone had any suggestions for this build?
I'm just getting into building my own computer, this will be #2. Going to be pairing it with an asus VG248QE http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00B2HH7G0/?tag=pcpapi-20 which I got for xmas.
http://pcpartpicker.com/p/2t9qU

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-4670K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($234.99 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Corsair H100i 77.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z87N-WIFI Mini ITX LGA1150 Motherboard ($129.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($157.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 840 Pro Series 128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($119.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 770 2GB Video Card ($339.99 @ Amazon)
Case: BitFenix Prodigy (Blue) Mini ITX Tower Case ($111.50 @ TigerDirect)
Power Supply: Corsair CX 600W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($69.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $1264.43
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-12-31 02:36 EST-0500)

[Kalmado]

About time for me to build a new system, was wondering if anyone had any suggestions for this build?
I'm just getting into building my own computer, this will be #2. Going to be pairing it with an asus VG248QE http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00B2HH7G0/?tag=pcpapi-20 which I got for xmas.
http://pcpartpicker.com/p/2t9qU

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-4670K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($234.99 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Corsair H100i 77.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z87N-WIFI Mini ITX LGA1150 Motherboard ($129.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($157.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 840 Pro Series 128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($119.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 770 2GB Video Card ($339.99 @ Amazon)
Case: BitFenix Prodigy (Blue) Mini ITX Tower Case ($111.50 @ TigerDirect)
Power Supply: Corsair CX 600W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($69.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $1264.43
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-12-31 02:36 EST-0500)

The only glaring thing to me is the power supply. I can't speak from personal experience on the Corsair CX series, but for price you can do better. The CX series is Corsair's bottom of the barrel bunch. Check this list for quality of power supplies and compare how much each costs. Recently I snagged an Antec Neo Eco 620 80+ Bronze for $32 after rebate and promo code which is made by Seasonic. The XFX PSU series made by Seasonic has also been around $40-$50 after rebates in the last 6-8 weeks as well.

[Jojimbo]

Yeah, those units often go on sale for $50 or so in which case they are a nice semi-modular 80+ Bronze unit but for $50 you could get this 550W 80+ Bronze XFX unit, non-modular but cheaper and is a Seasonic design. Or for $60 you could get this 620W 80+ Bronze semi-modular Antec unit, good unit that is again made by Seasonic but I believe has some minor PCB modifications done by Antec.

[Kalmado]

Amazon had that same psu on sale last week w/coupon for $50, but it was on back order. You could still buy it for the sale price, but no shipping date available. Hell of a deal without any rebate.

[Yugl]

About time for me to build a new system, was wondering if anyone had any suggestions for this build?
I'm just getting into building my own computer, this will be #2. Going to be pairing it with an asus VG248QE http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00B2HH7G0/?tag=pcpapi-20 which I got for xmas.
http://pcpartpicker.com/p/2t9qU

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-4670K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($234.99 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Corsair H100i 77.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z87N-WIFI Mini ITX LGA1150 Motherboard ($129.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($157.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 840 Pro Series 128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($119.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 770 2GB Video Card ($339.99 @ Amazon)
Case: BitFenix Prodigy (Blue) Mini ITX Tower Case ($111.50 @ TigerDirect)
Power Supply: Corsair CX 600W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($69.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $1264.43
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-12-31 02:36 EST-0500)

If you're by a microcenter, you can purchase the processor for $200 instead.

[Jojimbo]

Also any reason for the 16GB of RAM? For gaming/general then 8GB set like this is fine, if rendering/whatever then this 2133MHz set is cheaper and you might want to also consider an i7.

[Waraji]

Also any reason for the 16GB of RAM? For gaming/general then 8GB set like this is fine, if rendering/whatever then this 2133MHz set is cheaper and you might want to also consider an i7.

Once you go 10+ you will never go back. Never again will I buy less than Half my MB cap of RAM. That way I can fully upgrade to cap at a later time, and not have the whole thing. Call it a luxury, but gd it feels so good having 10+.

[Adajer]

^


I don't see how people even managed before 8gb kits were out. My 8gb kit would run to like 5 to 6gb sometimes wiith multiple tabs and games. Especially with BF4. Whenever I got closs to 5.5gb of usage, my system would stutter playback of videos and games would stutter. No issues since I moved to 16gb.

[Aylee]

Any one have suggestions on a budget build I could do to run ff14 flawlessly on max but for the least amount of money (no mouse, keyboard, monitors needed)

Edit: actually can anyone just recommend a laptop that can run it for around 650.

[Boyiee]

My GF wants me to start raiding in WoW from her house (I guess as an attempt to slowly move me in there). I have 3 choices in order of cost.

1. Bring my M11X R1 laptop over, plug it into her 50 inch bravia with HDMI cable, figure out some way to use a keyboard and mouse that aren't the laptops.
2. Get her HP6000 series desktop a graphics card since it has integrated graphics, but it's terrible really beyond that. Probably plenty for WoW. This could lead to future upgrades.
3. Build her a box for 500-600 that is more than capable of running WoW. She's already got a 1080p monitor. This slowly moves me in there.

Only problem with most scenarios is I'll need to get a mouse for her house, and I like my mice, doubt I'll be bringing my deathadder with me. Option 1 requires mouse and keyboard, maybe wireless. Option 2, the GPU I buy for 100-200 can be used in a later build if it ever happens. Option 3 is a bit ridiculous with option 1 and 2 being so convenient. 1 seems best but I've never played on a TV before and don't know how I'll like being on a couch or something. Any recommendations for distance gaming like this? I can buy a 15 foot HDMI if needed which is probably cheapest and use whatever kb/mouse from her coffee table but that seems uncomfortable.

[Kalmado]

About ram, I have read so many editorials, reviews, threads, etc stating unless you heavily multi-task 8gb is just fine. I personally run 8gb 1866 and have zero issue with anything I do, but at most that's running 5-7 chrome tabs, vlc player, and winamp at once. Maybe throw in qbittorrent too. If you've got the dough to throw at it, then great. It is my opinion upgrading from 8 to 16gb ram would be low on the priority list unless you do not need to upgrade anything else.

[Waraji]

Gotta get that DDR4 64GB RAM Kit.

[Silenka]

Looking for a good prebuilt gaming PC for around $1k (pref. core i5 - i7, nvidia gpu, at least 8gb-1600ram and 1tb hdd). I'm far too lazy to order all the parts myself and put them together just to save a couple hundred bucks. So far though, I haven't found anything from a company I'd trust that's remotely decent. Anything that has good overall system specs has a shit GPU and vice versa, it seems like you have to give up one for the other and can't have both.

I know a lot of prebuilts are way overpriced (such as Alienware) and I'm not looking to get any of those, but something that makes a bit more sense. I saw that IBuyPower has a bunch of nice rigs but I'm not sure if the company is any good - I've read that it's about 50/50 good/bad in reviews and I'm wary of buying from any company that doesn't have a majority positive reviews.

So I wondered if anyone here has bought any good prebuilts recently (though somehow I doubt it, everyone seems to be building their own nowadays) and knows of any good deals. Or maybe I'll just be forced to not be lazy and build my own in the end which would be a huge pain in the ass just for all the research I'd have to do. So what would you all reccommend in way of prebuilt?

[Melena]

My current computer that i'm replacing is from ibuypower.com I bought it almost 5 years ago and it's gone fine. The only recommendation I would give is research the hell out of the case you choose. I made a poor decision and found out after the fact mine was notorious for the fans failing which is what I feel lead to the demise of my GTX 285 and why i'm getting bsod dealing with overclocking a cpu even though it's not overclocked.

[Waraji]

Yeah only site I recommend is ibuypower for those that opt for not building their own. It never hurts to get a little dirty though, especially for faulty fans that are as easily replaceable as a car air intake filter.

[Melena]

Ok maybe i'm overthinking some things here. PC is slightly delayed as my wife's employer sucks and won't be mailing out her W2 till pretty much the last minute. Trying to see where else I may be able to tweak my build as far as cost is concerned. This is what i'm looking at right now.

Cooler Master HAF 912 Mid Tower Case $59.99
I5 4570 Quad Core CPU $199.99
Gigabyte GA B85 HD3 Motherboard $84.99 (is this a good board, i'm looking for something sub 100 with surround sound, no micro atx as I want to expand)
Samsung 840 EVO 250GB SSD $169.99
WD Green 2 TB HDD $89.99
G.SKILL 8GB (2 x 4GB) Ripjaws X Series DDR3 1600MHz PC3-12800 $95
Win 7 Pro 64bit OEM $99.99
Antec Earthwatts EA 650 80 Plus Bronze $79.24 (anything better for cheaper?)

I will be taking the Nvidia 550 TI from my current box and moving it over to this new build till I can afford a better card. Card already runs what I play great.