PC Build Advice/Review Thread

[Kalmado]

If the price is right I'd go for it.

[AlexRuzhyo]

Got a build, but now I need a monitor and case to put it in, should someone be able to help me out.

The build: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/2TO8l

Monitor:
Going 27" 1080p, just because the price difference between 25" 1080p and 27" 1440p is too much for my budget. The two candidates I have unless someone recommends otherwise...

ASUS VS278Q-P - 1ms, lower contrast, 2 HDMI Ports.
ASUS VK278Q - 2ms, higher contrast, 1 HDMI Ports, $20~30 more.

I'm leaning towards the latter for the contrast, but I can't speak for the 1ms difference in response times. Any critiques?

Case:
Honestly, this is the hardest part. I want Mid tower with a couple USB 3.0s on the front, quiet fans, with no LEDs. Obviously airflow and space at precident, but it's been difficult finding something I like. My budget on this is $100, though I'd like to spend closer to $50. Anyways, what I picked out...

Fractal Design Core 3000 $85~
NZXT Tempest 410 $66~
Rosswill R5 $73~
NZXT Phantom 410 $91~


I'm completely open to recommendations.

[Buffy]

If the price is right I'd go for it.

Yah, it's a costerformance ratio. You can get like 90% of the performance of the newest gen for like 60% of the price.

[Vandalhart]

My work is getting rid of some older PCs and I'm curious if these would be any good.
I'm looking for one to get steam on at home because my current desktop died over a year ago.

Here are the specs that I was provided.

Optiplex 780 desktop specs:
-Intel Core 2 Quad Q9450 (quad core processor)
-Intel onboard graphics
-4GB ram
-2 x 500 GB (7200 rpm) hard drives
-8 USB ports
-1 eSATA port
-1 PCI express slot for video card
-DVD +/- RW drive
-245 watt power supply

It appears I'll need to get my own video card, but seeing as the machine itself only appears to be $50 I can probably live with that expense.

[Teknique]

Looking to get some opinions on pc building. I have a budget of around 400-500. Looking for something that can generally multitask and perform decent. Not wanting top specs but obv the best i can afford for the cheapest. Anything will be an upgrade at this point. Im using a laptop from 2006. I did some google searchs and got this off a few searchs for best build. I have very little PC building knowledge.


this one.

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/2uwEr

And saw this prebuilt on new egg but its slightly over my price range.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16883229437

Fussel from BG chat suggested this. http://pastebin.com/gx2pWdu7

forgot to ask. do i need a wireless card? Can i still go wired? Approx same speed if i go wireless?
The case certainly looks nicer but that many lights at night i could see it keeping me awake at night
Any suggestions for this price range? Im not looking for max settings on games as there arent a lot of PC exclusive games i would be interested in at the moment.

This isnt my list, i just snagged it off the internet. Feel free to critique

[fussel]

-Intel Core 2 Quad Q9450 (quad core processor)

...

It appears I'll need to get my own video card, but seeing as the machine itself only appears to be $50 I can probably live with that expense.

Go for it, I'm still using a Q6600 which has only half the cache and a slower FSB and it's still good for current games.

[Kalmado]

Looking to get some opinions on pc building. I have a budget of around 400-500. Looking for something that can generally multitask and perform decent. Not wanting top specs but obv the best i can afford for the cheapest. Anything will be an upgrade at this point. Im using a laptop from 2006. I did some google searchs and got this off a few searchs for best build. I have very little PC building knowledge.


this one.

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/2uwEr

And saw this prebuilt on new egg but its slightly over my price range.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16883229437

Fussel from BG chat suggested this. http://pastebin.com/gx2pWdu7

forgot to ask. do i need a wireless card? Can i still go wired? Approx same speed if i go wireless?
The case certainly looks nicer but that many lights at night i could see it keeping me awake at night
Any suggestions for this price range? Im not looking for max settings on games as there arent a lot of PC exclusive games i would be interested in at the moment.

This isnt my list, i just snagged it off the internet. Feel free to critique

In your pcpartspicker link I see you listed something from Microcenter so I'm going to assume you live close to a Microcenter. In that case you can save money on the motherboard by getting a cpu+mobo combo where a base mobo is free. Keep in mind it is a real cheap mobo with no room for upgrades, but it should do what you need it to do.

While ram is pricey at the moment, you can do better than 1333 ram for that price. Newegg constantly has Gskill 1600+ ram on sale for around the same price. I'd suggest making sure it's CAS9 though.

You can save $7 on the hard drive by going with a Western Digital blue 1TB. Those are regularly $60. But, you can also get the same Seagate for $60 when a sale rolls around as well.

Unless you are partial to that case, you can do better for the same price, unless you are trying to avoid mail in rebates. But if MIR aren't an issue, right now TigerDirect has a Corsair Carbide 200R for $30. Looks to be an excellent deal. http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicati...hlLYrJ7JEFppFg

Nothing wrong with the Corsair CX430 psu. I just got one for the HTPC I'm building. But, for $5 more you can get a XFX 550w 80+ Bronze psu. Some people question XFX psu, but this one specifically is made by Seasonic. This is an extremely high quality psu for a steal at $25 after rebate. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...rebbr=1&cm_sp=

I hope this helps with your shopping!

[Teknique]

In your pcpartspicker link I see you listed something from Microcenter so I'm going to assume you live close to a Microcenter. In that case you can save money on the motherboard by getting a cpu+mobo combo where a base mobo is free. Keep in mind it is a real cheap mobo with no room for upgrades, but it should do what you need it to do.

While ram is pricey at the moment, you can do better than 1333 ram for that price. Newegg constantly has Gskill 1600+ ram on sale for around the same price. I'd suggest making sure it's CAS9 though.

You can save $7 on the hard drive by going with a Western Digital blue 1TB. Those are regularly $60. But, you can also get the same Seagate for $60 when a sale rolls around as well.

Unless you are partial to that case, you can do better for the same price, unless you are trying to avoid mail in rebates. But if MIR aren't an issue, right now TigerDirect has a Corsair Carbide 200R for $30. Looks to be an excellent deal. http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicati...hlLYrJ7JEFppFg

Nothing wrong with the Corsair CX430 psu. I just got one for the HTPC I'm building. But, for $5 more you can get a XFX 550w 80+ Bronze psu. Some people question XFX psu, but this one specifically is made by Seasonic. This is an extremely high quality psu for a steal at $25 after rebate. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...rebbr=1&cm_sp=

I hope this helps with your shopping!

Ok so i checked if there was a microcenter nearby and there is not one. Its 400 miles away so absolutely F that. Thanks on the other advice. Trying to get a price on that tower, but its only availble in store from tigerdirect. There is one nearby but thats maybe 40-50 miles and Im a lazy ass. You said it was 30 dollars, How are you seeing that price?

Personally im not a fan of mail in rebates. i would rather have straight up money off.

[Kalmado]

If you want to stay away from mail in rebates then it's going to make things a little more difficult staying within your budget. The Corsair case at $30 is after rebate. Most cases and power supplies that are for a good price are after mail in rebates. There are times where Newegg offers a decent deal with instant savings. I just ordered a Rosewill Ranger mATX case for $25 for a friends basic build.

[warc]

Upgrading my CPU/Mobo/SSD. Anyone have experience with Kingston SSDNow? Amazon has a 120gb ssd for $64 ish right now. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...=ATVPDKIKX0DER

Current build with updated parts: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/2XSvg
GPU is actually a 6870 but its not listed on the site for some reason. I'm basically just upgrading cpu/mobo/ssd with everything else listed.

How terrible would it be to hang on to the gpu for a bit until I can upgrade? Just noticed my 2x4 sticks are 1600, while 2x2s are 1333. What kind of performance change would I get from removing the 2x2s and running at 1600 instead of 1333?

Thanks!

[Reality]

wanted to get some advice from you folks

let's say you RMA'd a PSU, got the replacement and you can tell it's a different unit than the one you sent in, but it still exhibits the same faulty behavior as the one you sent back
you RMA this one, check the tracking to make sure it was delivered to the right place
10 days goes by without any type of correspondence from Seasonic, so you email them asking for an update, including your RMA#. they ask you for your tracking number (???) so they can look up your RMA
you email back supplying the tracking number you were given by USPS, as well as your name and home address
... no response
two days later, you email again, asking if you could get an update, they ask for the same information so you supply it
two days later, no response again
I called the support number, it goes to a voice mail recording

what should be my next course of action here?

[Kalmado]

Upgrading my CPU/Mobo/SSD. Anyone have experience with Kingston SSDNow? Amazon has a 120gb ssd for $64 ish right now. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...=ATVPDKIKX0DER

I don't know specifically how a SSD works internally, but I trust what many others have said about that Kingston SSD, which is Kingston basically pulled a bait and switch and that drive is very poor. Read the link below for more information. http://slickdeals.net/f/6725252-120g...-ssd-66-amazon

[Gredival]

Upgrading my CPU/Mobo/SSD. Anyone have experience with Kingston SSDNow? Amazon has a 120gb ssd for $64 ish right now. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...=ATVPDKIKX0DER

Current build with updated parts: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/2XSvg
GPU is actually a 6870 but its not listed on the site for some reason. I'm basically just upgrading cpu/mobo/ssd with everything else listed.

How terrible would it be to hang on to the gpu for a bit until I can upgrade? Just noticed my 2x4 sticks are 1600, while 2x2s are 1333. What kind of performance change would I get from removing the 2x2s and running at 1600 instead of 1333?

Thanks!

Go with Kingston's enthusiast line of SSDs, the HyperX http://www.amazon.com/Kingston-Hyper.../dp/B007R67FNA

If you're willing to sit, I've seen 240GB mSATA Crucials come up for $120 recently, but I don't know the urgency of your build and if you can wait around for that.

I personally think 8GB is more than plenty for most users; the extra RAM isn't worth the expense if it's going to lower the other sticks. The graphics card question depends on the games you specifically play and what you want out of them. I've been making do with a HD4890 until recently.

EDIT: This SSD just went on sale. Very good deal. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...0248016&cm_sp=

[Buffy]

wanted to get some advice from you folks

let's say you RMA'd a PSU, got the replacement and you can tell it's a different unit than the one you sent in, but it still exhibits the same faulty behavior as the one you sent back
you RMA this one, check the tracking to make sure it was delivered to the right place
10 days goes by without any type of correspondence from Seasonic, so you email them asking for an update, including your RMA#. they ask you for your tracking number (???) so they can look up your RMA
you email back supplying the tracking number you were given by USPS, as well as your name and home address
... no response
two days later, you email again, asking if you could get an update, they ask for the same information so you supply it
two days later, no response again
I called the support number, it goes to a voice mail recording

what should be my next course of action here?

I hope it's not Rocketfish. Their support is shit and you will never be happy.

[Kalmado]

EDIT: This SSD just went on sale. Very good deal. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...0248016&cm_sp=

I bought the 120gb version when it was $60 and I've been pleased with it.

[warc]

Go with Kingston's enthusiast line of SSDs, the HyperX http://www.amazon.com/Kingston-Hyper.../dp/B007R67FNA

If you're willing to sit, I've seen 240GB mSATA Crucials come up for $120 recently, but I don't know the urgency of your build and if you can wait around for that.

I personally think 8GB is more than plenty for most users; the extra RAM isn't worth the expense if it's going to lower the other sticks. The graphics card question depends on the games you specifically play and what you want out of them. I've been making do with a HD4890 until recently.

EDIT: This SSD just went on sale. Very good deal. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...0248016&cm_sp=

Thanks for the advice. I thought Kingston made really solid SSDs, but good to know about the poor build quality of that SSD. Definitely going to check out the seagate line.

[Gredival]

Thanks for the advice. I thought Kingston made really solid SSDs, but good to know about the poor build quality of that SSD. Definitely going to check out the seagate line.

Kingston is a quality manufacturer, but the SSDNow drives are a budget line, and the savings do come at a price. Comparatively, the HyperX drives are their gaming/enthusiast line, and the markup reflects the better quality parts. The HyperX drives were very good when they were released and remain solid choices, so it's well worth spending the cash to upgrade.

However the newest Samsung drives pretty much blow everything else out of the water. Those Samsungs come at a premium though. This Seagate isn't as good as a Samsung but it's usually in the same price range. On sale it's $35 less (that includes the fact the Samsungs just had a price cut), and the performance losses aren't very significant for most people, so for the budget conscious it's definitely worth it to go for this.

[Squah]

New to the PC build scene, never done it before. Want to make a decent rig to handle shit like Titanfall, and possibly Destiny/Dark Souls 2, etc.

Not getting an OS since I can download windows 7, 8 or 8.1 from my school for free (my roommate just did this a few weeks ago with his rig otherwise I'd be wary about it)

Intel® Core™ i5-4670 3.40 GHz 6MB Intel Smart Cache LGA1150
Corsair Hydro Series H60 High Performance Liquid Cooling System 120MM Radiator & Fan
1TB SATA-III 6.0Gb/s 32MB Cache 7200RPM HDD
8GB RAM
Mobo: ASUS Z87-K ATX w/ GbLAN, 2 PCIe x16 (1 Gen3, 1 Gen2), 2 PCIe x1, 3 PCI
GeForce GTX 660 2GB 16X PCIe 3.0 Video Card
600W power supply

Thoughts? Not gonna overclock, not putting in extra video cards or anything like that.

Oh, that comes to $800~, right around where I wanted my budget.

[Mabubeezareel]

New to the PC build scene, never done it before. Want to make a decent rig to handle shit like Titanfall, and possibly Destiny/Dark Souls 2, etc.

Not getting an OS since I can download windows 7, 8 or 8.1 from my school for free (my roommate just did this a few weeks ago with his rig otherwise I'd be wary about it)

Intel® Core™ i5-4670 3.40 GHz 6MB Intel Smart Cache LGA1150
Corsair Hydro Series H60 High Performance Liquid Cooling System 120MM Radiator & Fan
1TB SATA-III 6.0Gb/s 32MB Cache 7200RPM HDD
8GB RAM
Mobo: ASUS Z87-K ATX w/ GbLAN, 2 PCIe x16 (1 Gen3, 1 Gen2), 2 PCIe x1, 3 PCI
GeForce GTX 660 2GB 16X PCIe 3.0 Video Card
600W power supply

Thoughts? Not gonna overclock, not putting in extra video cards or anything like that.

Oh, that comes to $800~, right around where I wanted my budget.

Few things to mention for you on your build:

• Since you're not overclocking, the Corsair H60 is mostly a waste. Unless you live in a very high-temperature climate without AC, you'll do fine with a decent air cooler. I'd recommend the Coolermaster Hyper 212 Plus or EVO.
  
  
• Adding on to the point of not overclocking, and coupled with the fact you don't plan on using dual video cards, you don't really need a Z87 mobo either. You could probably get away with a cheaper B85 mobo. While I've used ASUS boards in my last 2 rigs, I've read more than a few horror stories on their current RMA processes, so you may want to consider going with another maker, such as Gigabyte. This mobo here probably suits your needs and is $30 cheaper than that ASUS.
  
  
• What brand/model is that power supply? This is very important to know, as the PSU is one of the most critical components of a build, and you'll want to make sure that you get one that is high-quality. Pretty much anything made by Corsair or Seasonic will work.
  
  
• I would strongly recommend putting in a few extra $$$ to get yourself an SSD to have as your primary OS drive. The cost of SSDs have come down to less than $1/GB, and are very much worth the money. Check out the Crucial M500 or Samsung 840 EVO series
  
  
• Unless you're getting a GREAT deal on the GTX660, spend a few extra $$$ here too and get the more recent GTX760. I'd recommend EVGA here for the brand, as their customer service, RMA process, and warranty are superb.
  
  
• Lastly, don't forget the case!

[Squah]

It's a standard 80 plus PSU. The GTX760 is a ~$100 dollar upcharge over the GTX660. Also, there's a pretty good deal on the liquid cooling system. I was thinking about getting a solid state, just not immediately. I can live without one for now.

This build was done with cyberpowerpc (i ran it all through pcpartpicker and the prices were ~identical). Case is a CyberPowerPC X-Titan 100 MID-Tower.


I'm still toying around with options in pcpartpicker as well, but like I said I'm new to it and cyberpower held me hand through it (which is nice, but I agree also a bad thing as it can lead to unnecessary things). I was using this as a base model to get feedback and see what I can squeeze out of my money. I'm not looking for a jesus rig, but something mid-level~ish (as to be expected for less than $1k), with maybe a slightly beefier vidya card.

Downside to pcpartpicker choosing a case: so many options with uncertainty of if it will work/fit qq.


edit: been toying -> http://pcpartpicker.com/p/2ZH9M