PC Build Advice/Review Thread

[Jaxzer]

Thinking about upgrading my mid-2012 macbook pro to a SSD. Is it worth it? My mac still runs crazy fast, I can't imagine the speeds with an SSD. Is OWC the best option?

[jmc]

Looking for a new laptop, would like to use it for some slight gaming (ffxiv) and was looking at this: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16834313584

Can anyone recommend anything better, or identical to compare it to? sub-$1k if possible.

[Kalmado]

I'd say it's all about timing. Right now sucks for Ram. In November I got Ripjaw 1866 8gb for $47. Right now you can't even sniff meh brands for under $60. After rebate and coupon you can get a Corsair CX600 for $38 at Newegg. Ends 1/29. I want to say there have been 3tb hdd for $90, but that's a sale of course.

[Gredival]

I'll third the recommendation for IBuyPower. They are local near me and have a pretty generous warranty policy. They charge the least profit margin, afaik, for pre-built rigs so if it's just about not going through the hassle of assembling it, doing wiring in the back, etc. they are pretty good.

My current rig is about 5 years old from them as well and still runs well. I'm currently having an issue but I'm pretty sure it's just one general part failing somewhere that's not really their fault.

I'd say it's all about timing. Right now sucks for Ram. In November I got Ripjaw 1866 8gb for $47. Right now you can't even sniff meh brands for under $60. After rebate and coupon you can get a Corsair CX600 for $38 at Newegg. Ends 1/29. I want to say there have been 3tb hdd for $90, but that's a sale of course.

Honestly the only 3TB's I see for under a 100 are externals. You can, of course, rip them out, but the whole point is that it voids the warranty so that Seagate/WD don't have to replace your drive if it craps out the first two years.

You can sometimes get a 3TB NAS drive at around $105~ when the right deal hits.

Otherwise you can sometimes score a better performance 1TB drive (like a WD Caviar Black) for around $40.

I've also heard good things about that hybrid SSD & magnetic drive that Seagate puts out.

[Kalmado]

I'm probably thinking of a 2tb 7200 than. Whatever is cheapest works then!

[Kaisha]

Been slacking off for a couple years on building a new rig, so it's about time I look at getting something 'modern' built.

So far I've got this worked up using Logical Increments as a base guide: http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/p/2KpJa

Will be gutting a 500w PSU/GPU/SSD from the dead rig , but roughly CDN$700 before taxes feels like a lot though for what's currently there. I'm either shooting too high to start with that CPU/Mobo, or I'm just used to seeing American prices on PC builds.

I could get a dvd-rom instead for $25 less, and use the stock cooler for another $30'ish chopped off, but I'm unfamiliar with how loud/hot modern CPUs get under load with regular clock settings. Primarily wanted a powerful enough CPU to last a good chunk of whatever games may need for the next 5 years, since the rest of the components are more easily upgraded over time.

[Gredival]

Been slacking off for a couple years on building a new rig, so it's about time I look at getting something 'modern' built.

So far I've got this worked up using Logical Increments as a base guide: http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/p/2KpJa

Will be gutting a 500w PSU/GPU/SSD from the dead rig , but roughly CDN$700 before taxes feels like a lot though for what's currently there. I'm either shooting too high to start with that CPU/Mobo, or I'm just used to seeing American prices on PC builds.

I could get a dvd-rom instead for $25 less, and use the stock cooler for another $30'ish chopped off, but I'm unfamiliar with how loud/hot modern CPUs get under load with regular clock settings. Primarily wanted a powerful enough CPU to last a good chunk of whatever games may need for the next 5 years, since the rest of the components are more easily upgraded over time.

Can you give specs on what you currently have, for comparison purposes, and the specs of the items you are salvaging? 500W seems potentially low to me, especially with max output decay, but it will depend on the card.

I also think salvaging RAM is a good place to save unless your last computer was so old that DDR3-1333 is really a huge upgrade for you (in which case I think that a GPU upgrade might be justified)

[Kaisha]

Can you give specs on what you currently have, for comparison purposes, and the specs of the items you are salvaging?

My last rig is ancient, so DDR3 would be quite an upgrade.

Old specs:

Spoiler: show

CPU - AMD64 3700 (2.21ghz single-core)
Mobo- ASRock Dual-939
RAM - 2x1gb DDR400
GPU - eVGA GF 460GTX (salvaging)
PSU - Corsair CX500 (salvaging)
HD - 128gb OCZ Vertex4 SSD (salvaging)
160gb SeaGate 7200RPM

Vid card used to be an 8800GT until it started giving graphical corruptions around a year ago. The intention was to bring the 460 (which that old CPU could barely flex) over to the PC I was wanting to build, including the SSD.

The PSU is essentially new, since I picked it up while trying to troubleshoot something on my old PC before I gave up on it. Wasn't a smart decision in hindsight, but the build currently shouldn't break 450 350 watts on a full load.

[Zeb]

Need some advice on gfx card/monitor upgrade. Wanting to go to a 27" ips 2560x1440 display. Currently using a 21.5" 1680x1050 with a 650ti. How far off do you think Maxwell is going to be and will it be worth waiting for? And if I do wait for the card, should I also wait for the monitor. IE will my 650ti push out enough juice for it?

[Krandor]

I believe Maxwell based cards are expected in the first half of the year, but I haven't looked at any news recently. As for the monitor, once you push past 1080p the processing requirements starting going up pretty quickly. A 650ti at 1440p would probably require you to start moving down to a mix of high/medium settings or so, depending on the game obviously.

[Gredival]

My last rig is ancient, so DDR3 would be quite an upgrade.

Old specs:

Spoiler: show

CPU - AMD64 3700 (2.21ghz single-core)
Mobo- ASRock Dual-939
RAM - 2x1gb DDR400
GPU - eVGA GF 460GTX (salvaging)
PSU - Corsair CX500 (salvaging)
HD - 128gb OCZ Vertex4 SSD (salvaging)
160gb SeaGate 7200RPM

Vid card used to be an 8800GT until it started giving graphical corruptions around a year ago. The intention was to bring the 460 (which that old CPU could barely flex) over to the PC I was wanting to build, including the SSD.

The PSU is essentially new, since I picked it up while trying to troubleshoot something on my old PC before I gave up on it. Wasn't a smart decision in hindsight, but the build currently shouldn't break 450 350 watts on a full load.

Okay then yeah that's pretty decent for what you have spec'ed. I can't help you on the noise level of stock since I have an older i7 and I never ran it stock.

If you aren't picky about the case, this one from Corsair is only 40 after rebate: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...1139025&cm_sp=

[Galkaeater]

Been meaning to build a new PC for a while now But since im a first timer it was hard getting started

after doing some research I decided on building around the GTX760 since it was the best sub £200 GPU acording to some websites

http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/2PqAE

This I what I got ATM
So any advice or changes?

also Windows 7 or 8?

[AlexRuzhyo]

Tax Return get!

I know how to physically assemble a PC, but not pick out the parts... The most I've ever done was ask for advice and swap GPU, CPU, ect. If you fine folks would be willing to help build a part-list within my budget it'd be appreciated; I'll pass it around and try to get the most for my money.

I've little more than $1,200 before rebates. I'm focusing on a tower and monitor. I also need advice on a headset, but I'm not including that in my budget right now.

What I'm looking for in the Tower/monitor, and what I'd use it for...

-A single Monitor, pivoting base prefered (23~26 inch?)
-Modern Gaming, High-Ultra settings. (FFXIV, Metro: Last Light at the moment.)
-Streaming games online or video to a TV.
-Sufficient cooling.
-SDHC Slot (or would a wired accesorry be cheaper?)
-Quiet running.

Other information...

-I'm not too concerned with "future proofing", but I'd like the option to upgrade a part here or there should it prove necessary.
-I've never used dual monitors, but I'd like to have the option should it not be exepsnive.
-I've never overclocked or learned how, don't know if I'll get that involved.
-Is there any reason not to use windows 7, or to use Windows 8?
-Never used thermal paste before, so that is a small concern of mine.

Any advice on headsets would be appreciated: I'll most likely be using it as my main audio source and wish not ot spend more than $100~150 on one.

[Gredival]

I'm not too up to date on modern hardware since I haven't been looking to upgrading my rig or building a desktop in 4-5 years. The one recommendation I will make is to invest in an SDD, as it's probably price for dollar the best upgrade you can make. There are 240GBs in or under the 50 cents per GB mark now, like this one. Also most modern video cards even from 4 years back can support native dual monitors.

I recommend Windows 7, because I found 8 to be infuriating. Thermal paste isn't a big deal to apply. Most coolers, or even stock coolers, come with paste pre-applied. You just need to attach the cooler. The issue is if you want to use aftermarket paste, then you will need to clean and reapply.

As for headsets, this is usually where we light the Boyiee signal. He will recommend that you get a decent pair of normal headphones, then use a stand-alone microphone (desk or clip-on). This is a dramatically cheaper option; with a headset you are normally just paying a high fee for the convenience of having the mic and the headphones integrated. So if you're looking for the most bang out of your buck, that's the way to go.

There are two exceptions to this. One is if you want something wireless (both mic and headphones) then headsets can be a good deal. Second is if you want something with "surround sound." This means the headset is either 5.1 or 7.1, and the directional sound is either simulated (uses software to alter the pitch to give it directional depth) or discreet (there are different speakers positioned in the headset). This is most usually a marketing gimmick, as normal headsets can mimic direction naturally with the right input. However if you play mostly FPS or other games with direction audio is *extremely* important, and you don't want to set up a real surround sound system in your gaming area, then there are benefits. But if you're the kind of guy that listens to music over most audio, you will probably do better with higher quality headphones to boost audio quality, rather than surround.

Now if you're still in the headset market you probably want one or the other benefit, so I'll give you one recommendations for each. First is the Razer Tiamat, which is a wired real 7.1 headset with multiple drivers. Second is the Astro A50 which is a wireless headset that supports digital 7.1. Be warned that both of these are fairly high end for headsets and you will likely need an actual soundcard to maximize your benefits.

[synistar]

When I did my build, I literally went to cyberpowerpc, chose what hardware i wanted from one of their systems, then modified it to how I saw fit. Used the money I saved from building it myself to get better parts.

Always a debate: i5 vs i7. I find nothing wrong with my i5. Have no idea what applications use hyperthreading that I overruled my friend who said to go i7. Saved $100. Didn't overlock, don't need the 'k' version.

8GB RAM at minimum. DDR3 1600 should be sufficient. I guess if you have the money to spare, bump it up to 16GB, but I don't see much reason to.

If you want it to run quiet, you're thinking of liquid cooling. I could care less about how loud my system is. But since you're not planning to overlock, you probably won't need an aftermarket CPU. Maybe a case fan or 2 depending on what GFX you're running.

600 GeForce series is there for budget builds. 700s are nice, but a bit pricey. May want to wait for the 800 series to come out and there may be price cuts.

[Waraji]

Used the money I saved from building it myself to get better parts.

How does this work exactly? What money did you save from Paying someone to Build it for you?

The art of Actually building it yourself is hunting down the Sales online for specific components, besides actually knowing what you get down to the model number/specifications. That often involves waiting for the price reductions or sales, and shopping around for them.

[synistar]

Saved on the assembly and shipping costs for the system. Bought stuff that had free shipping. Did extensive shopping around to find the best prices. The $200+ I saved went towards part of a monitor, peripherals, 3rd party case fans and aftermarket CPU fan, SSD, and an additional backup HD that I otherwise wouldn't have gotten with the preassembled system. I guess it's more accurate to say I bought a few more bells and whistsles rather than better parts.

Could I have been a bit more studious in trying to find the deals and build a better rig? Sure. But my laptop that I was using was on its final legs.

[AlexRuzhyo]

When I did my build, I literally went to cyberpowerpc, chose what hardware i wanted from one of their systems, then modified it to how I saw fit. Used the money I saved from building it myself to get better parts.

Always a debate: i5 vs i7. I find nothing wrong with my i5. Have no idea what applications use hyperthreading that I overruled my friend who said to go i7. Saved $100. Didn't overlock, don't need the 'k' version.

8GB RAM at minimum. DDR3 1600 should be sufficient. I guess if you have the money to spare, bump it up to 16GB, but I don't see much reason to.

If you want it to run quiet, you're thinking of liquid cooling. I could care less about how loud my system is. But since you're not planning to overlock, you probably won't need an aftermarket CPU. Maybe a case fan or 2 depending on what GFX you're running.

600 GeForce series is there for budget builds. 700s are nice, but a bit pricey. May want to wait for the 800 series to come out and there may be price cuts.

Alright! Been browsing reddit's buildapc and buildmeapc, and eventually made a thread of my own. Everything the guy suggested fit within what you've recommended, however, he suggested a GeForce 780 and a 27" 1440p Monitor.

Both the card and a 27" would kill my budget (the cheapest 27" I can see is $339), but I could do the 780 and a 24" 1080p ($130+)... but that may be overkill? I'll need feedback. I'll have a small desk and fear a 27" may be a bit too big anyways.

If someone could narrow this down to 2 options that'd be neats. Danke.

[Buffy]

I'm leaning towards getting two GTX 680s when my tax returns come in. I like to play using the three screens, and I've been using Radeon 7800s, but I'd like to go back to Nvidia I think.

Thoughts/comments/advice?

[Adajer]

Why would you buy last gen? soon to be 2 gens old.