PC Build Advice/Review Thread

[Cyn]

My old PC had that Lynnfield i7 in it. I gave it to my girlfriend's son and got him a 4GB ZOTAC 960 for his birthday and he loves it, said it runs everything he plays maxed out.

[Mrbeansman]

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/mm6z23

Here is what I have for my first build. No hard drives cause I'm using my current SSD and HDD for the new build. Thoughts/suggestion?

[Arkanna]

That's a pretty high-tier rig you're building. I'd suggest to go with a Z170 board, latest-gen i5/i7, and DDR4 unless you're trying to minimize costs (to get with the latest platform for not much more coin).

Also you don't need an 850W PSU for that box. You could save a little green there.

[Churchill]

DDR4 is laughable for the price, come on man.

You probably don't even need a 750, but I would swap from the EVGA modular to the SUPERNOVA verson.

4690K is starting to show its age, I'd go with the 5820, it's the same architecture so you don't have to change anything. Can safely OC to 4K and beyond.

I'd get GSKILL Ripjaws instead of Corsair Vengeance, same deal, 2x8Gb

980Ti/used 980 is going to be a lot more bang for a few more bucks.

Overall what I suggested should cost you ~350$ more.

The difference between your build and actually going latest gen is pretty significant in price so I wouldn't do that, I also wouldn't call what you built high-tier. Actually going latest tech on everything would actually probably bump your price well over 1000$

For your case, make sure to order Noctua replacement fans. You probably don't need that water cooler unless you plan to seriously OC your CPU, even if you don't get smart and get a 5820, the 4690K will go to 4.5Ghz without that cooler provided you don't live where I do.

[Arkanna]

Church, you trollin'?

The cheapest 2x8 DDR4 kit on Newegg is $100. The cheapest comparable 2x8 DDR3 kit is $65. $35 difference.

The CPU he chose, on Newegg, is $225. A comparable CPU in LGA1151 (ie, DDR4/Z170) is $255. $30 difference.

The motherboard he chose, on Newegg, is $175. A comparable Z170 motherboard from the same manufacturer is $190. $15 difference.

[Churchill]

Latest gen intel, when I read that, means 6xxx which means 400$+. The 5820 can be had for 300$.

RE: DDR3/4 Unless something has changed, DDR4 only works on the -E versions of intel chips, which are beyond that 400$ that I mentioned above. That said, numerous tests have shown that DDR 4 offers negligible performance increases, if it actually provides an increase at all. Whatever the price difference is, you're paying for the right to say you have DDR4 and not much else. That said, if you wait, the price of DDR3 vs DDR4 should be more or less congruent later this year.

I agree with the motherboard, that's why I didn't say anything about it. Buying gigabyte over asus is kinda silly.

Also, depending on what kind of SSD you have it might be worth buying a new one. They are considerably faster nowadays.

[Arkanna]

The $255 CPU I mentioned is the Core i5 6600K. Link: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819117561

The Z170 chipset runs DDR4 memory and any LGA1151 CPU, including the above CPU. So for roughly $80, he'd be getting a more future-proof box while spending not all that much more(assuming budget is a concern). Could save that $80 if you wanted by installing any version of Windows 7 without a key, cracking it with Daz's Loader, then upping it to Windows 10 Home 64-bit, not legit but who cares. Going with a lesser PSU (650W, 700W) would probably save another $30-$50.

[Kalmado]

I agree on ddr4 vs ddr3. Seems pointless. Also, paying more than $70 right now for 2x8gb ddr3 is a waste. Cas 9 1866, Cas10 2133/2400 or Cas11 2400 can be found from $60-$70.

For psu, if getting SuperNova just make sure it's G2/B2/P2. I've used the B2 750 three times and it's a very nice unit. Twice I bought it for $33 after rebate. For semi modular I don't think I've seen a better value. The XFX 750 TS was recently $40 after rebate, but that's fully wired. Still, great value for Seasonic OEM.

For gpu I'm still AMD>NV at that price point unless we're talking $250-$275 for a 970 which can happen on jet.com using first time buyer promo codes. I'd buy either Zotac, Gigabyte, MSI, or EVGA in no particular order. I'm a huge fan of MSI though. Why not Asus? Warranty voided if cooler is removed. So if you want to water cool or replace TIM (because all factory TIM is HORRID) you need to be ok with no warranty support.

I have that Gigabyte Z97 Gaming 7. I got it after selling my Asus Maximus VI Hero for a nice profit. Pros: Awesome on board sound, looks nice, sturdy. Cons: Fan controlling support SUCKS, Bios is terrible to navigate. For the price I paid I'm happy with it, but if I wouldn't advise anyone to buy it. If going with that white R5 case I'd look at the MSI Krait just for the looks.

Water cooler is overkill and pointless to be honest unless you really want to OC that thing to the max. If you want an AIO water cooler just for the looks get the cheaper H50/55/75, but performance wise a Cooler Master Hyper 212 Evo/Plus is similar and usually $20-$25 after rebate.

Case fans are at the buyers discretion. Noctua's are definitely the best, but you're going to pay. I like Cougar for the price to performance ratio, but with Tigerdirect out of business who knows if we'll see $5 after rebate for them again. I'm currently using five Thermaltake Riing fans and they are quiet and nice. I tried Corsair AF "Silent" fans and they are anything but. If the buyer is going to shell out for Corsair fans they are better off spending a few more dollars and getting the Noctuas.

[Cyn]

It would be cheaper to get an i7 4790K and a good air cooler than the 4690K and that overpriced water cooler. Hell, you could get a cheap but serviceable water cooler and a 4790K for that price.

[Yabby]

I personally love that water cooler, have it on my 6700k OC to 5.3. Ran it maxed for two hours and kept it in the safe zone. I'm not looking to get into a water vs air debate. Just noting that cooler he picked works great for me.

[Kalmado]

I personally love that water cooler, have it on my 6700k OC to 5.3. Ran it maxed for two hours and kept it in the safe zone. I'm not looking to get into a water vs air debate. Just noting that cooler he picked works great for me.

I forgot to mention in my post that model is older and now overpriced. The newer H100 models are still around $100 if not less during sales! I do think it's good, but not for someone that isn't super into overclocking. That's why I don't have one. I'm good with my modest 4.4, but that's not max and with stock voltage. I'm too much of a pansy (and too cheap) to do custom loop!

[Boyiee]

I prefer something like a noctua dh14 unless a custom loop is an option. Never was happy with those corsair things.

[Kalmado]

I prefer something like a noctua dh14 unless a custom loop is an option. Never was happy with those corsair things.

I was reading on overclock.net that the Cooler Master Nepton series is a decent AIO.

The Cooler Master Nepton Series are a step up from the Asetek/CoolIt bunch (Corsair/NZXT/etc). They at least have a pump that can move the amount of liquid necessary to cool a CPU only loop.

http://www.overclock.net/t/1576090/h...#post_24484074

[Krandor]

I had the Nepton in the last computer I built and it is very nice. Would wholeheartedly recommend.

[Psion]

Well, tax return came in faster than i expected. Ok, so I have more questions on what to get. You guys mentioned the PSU needs to be fairly high, well i have an Antec earthwatts 750W max PSU so i think i'm ok there. :D

First off, for the RAM, i noticed something about windows 7 home premium only supporting 16 gigs of RAM? does this mean if i install 24 gigs, the RAM past 16g wont be recognized by any program, or just windows? if its the former, would it be better to go for a triple channel 3x4gb setup or dual channel 2x8 gb with my motherboard and processor? i'm not sure how awesome triple channel vs dual channel but higher RAM capacity is, or even if i should do say, 6x2 gb sticks or 4x4 gb sticks instead for... double triple or double dual channels? i'm a bit lost at what i should aim for here. XD

For the SSD, i'm guessing samsung is the best brand? I know someone did a test of abusing SSDs until they died for various brands and apparently the samsung pro lasted for over 2.4petabytes before failing lol. Not sure if the pro versions worth the extra cost or not. The motherboard does have two true SATA 6 gb connections, so i'm presuming I use those two for connecting an SSD and spare HDD i have to. I'm also not sure how to set up a SSD, how to nurture it, connect it. (do i format it? are there any settings i should turn on or off for it? how does one set up a slave and master drive?) I do not cherish the thought of a 250$ brick because I made a noob mistake.

For the graphics card, i noticed there seems to be a lot of different... models for a single type. for instance, there's this one http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-730-_-Product and i'm not sure if its the best deal, even if it's the cheapest after rebate. Will this work well with my setup? are some of the other models better? is AMD or nvidia better for gaming? <_<; Granted AMD is a lot cheaper, although some of the nvidea 970s come with rise of the tomb raider which helps even it out... somewhat. still cheaper to buy the game and an amd separately though.

If I were to aim for a 8GB video card, would be the next step up? http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814131672 it says 750W requirement, does that mean a 750 PSU is enough for it and everything else to run fine, or is that just the amount needed for the video card alone and my PSU isn't strong enough for the task?

Thanks for bothering ya'll with such noob questions.

PS: heres my older post showing my system specs again for easy reference

Spoiler: show

Ok, so i'm getting about 740$ refund from tax within a few weeks, and my 6 year oldish computer is in desperate need of some upgrades!

Currently what I have:

Computer Case: Cooler Master large case
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811119216

Motherboard: Sabertooth X58 (So old i couldn't even find it on newegg! :D)
http://www.asus.com/Motherboards/SABERTOOTH_X58/

Processor: Intel i7 950 quad core (also so old i couldn't find the newegg link! XD )
http://ark.intel.com/products/37150/...-GTs-Intel-QPI

Video Card: Radeon HD 6870
http://www.amd.com/en-us/products/gr...top/6000/6870#

RAM: 3 2G corsair sticks
http://www.corsair.com/en-us/cmx6gx3m3c1600c7

Storage: Western Digital 640GB hard drive (ok so maybe a bit more than 500 gigs)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822136218

Operating System:Windows 7 64bit home premium- OEM type
http://www.neweggbusiness.com/Produc...=9B-32-116-754

I'm thinking of upgrading the RAM to 24 gigs (which i think is the max this motherboard supports), because i'm really feeling the crunch sometimes trying to say, play modded minecraft or other games while leaving firefox open and the like. Its still playable, but i often have to turn a lot of settings down, which makes me sad. I dunno how this will work though. there's 6 slots for RAM, but i see something about triple channel and i'm not sure if i should be getting say, 6 4 gig sticks or 3 8 gig sticks, and thats before even getting into slot types, specifications, and other stuff that makes my head spin figuring out what is best and what can even work with my system.

I'm also thinking of getting an SSD, at least 1G if not 2G. Right now I just have a 500 gig hard drive, (yes, and its only half full! shocking, i know. i don't watch much movies.) so I figure 2 gigs will keep up the next few years of data inflation, though I have a 1T hard drive lying around I could use as a backup storage for less important things. I'm not familiar at all at how to set up SSDs though, nor how to set up multiple drives.

I'm thinking of going lastly for a better video card, since 1G is kinda... sad now. Probably 2-4G? I WOULD like to play rise of the tomb raider on max settings... :D (but also have enough money leftover to afford it in the first place <.<; )

At any rate, i'm moving out by next year, and moneys going to be tight, so i doubt ill have extra to spend on upgrading my computer for a looong time ._. . would prefer to overupgrade so my computer can hang on for a good few more years at least, just in case i don't get another chance for a while.

::EDIT:: and here's what i'm thinking of getting so far:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820147361 - Samsung 850 PRO 512 GB hard drive (because apparently 1T hard drives are still kind of pricey, and my entire computer is only using 420 GB of hard drive space atm... and probably over half of that is games i haven't bothered removing from the computer because i'm lazy. <_<; Besides, I have a spare 1T HHD i can install as well for extra space if needed.) I'm not sure if the PRO is worth the extra money though. if not, theres: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820147373 which is the nonpro version.

For memory, i'm going off the assumption that windows 7 home premium 64 bit can only handle 16G max despite my motherboard supporting more, and am thinking of either http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820231628 - G.SKILL TridentX Series 16GB (2x8) 1600 or http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820231623 the G.SKILL TridentX Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) 1866 version. the 1600 one is...slower? i guess, but has a latency of 7, while the 1866 one has a latency of 8. I'm not sure which would be better for my setup, or if theyre compatible with my motherboard and processor. (its got triple channel architecture, but does it support dual channel as well?)

For the GPU i'm thinking http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-730-_-Product - XFX Radeon R9 380 R9-380P-4255 4GB 256-Bit GDDR5, because it's cheap for a 4G GPU. I have no clue if any of the other models of it are "better" than this, or if this is compatible with my motherboard. I do have 750W PSU, so i'm safe on the power supply at least.

[Kalmado]

Either Samsung or Intel I'd say is the top tier SSD right now. There are other makes and models that are perfectly fine as well. I'm personally running a 240gb PNY Optima and for over a year it's served me well as my main OS drive and now as a drive strictly for games. Good 480-512gb SSDs can usually be found on sale for $110-$125. The Samsung 850 Evo seems to always hover around $150 on sale now. While on paper and benches the Samsung is better, I'm not sure a person is going to see any real world difference between that and say a Sandisk or Crucial equivalent if only doing regular every day activities. As far as installing, here is a sweet video by our boy Linus. When installing the OS initially only have the ssd installed. Then you can add other drives later.

For gpu I'm a huge fan of XFX. Warranty is not voided for removing the cooler and their products are incredible on price to performance. The PowerColor R9 390 is also a solid card. If you're hovering around the $175 price point the R9 380 4gb is hands down the best way to go. However, right now you can get an Asus STRIX GTX 970 for potentially $253. From the hyperlink add the gpu to your cart. Waive free return and use promo code 15now. This will bring the price down to $273.48. That's how much you will buy the gpu from jet.com for. There is a $20 mail in rebate that specifies it is for all retailers and this model is listed. You will just need to get an invoice for the purchase and follow the instructions to get the rebate. People have reported on slickdeals.net that they have received rebates from their jet.com orders. At $253 a 970 is a great value. Currently, the best R9 390 is around $275. You do get 4gb vram more from the 390, but it does run hotter and uses more power. You do not need a 750w psu for the 390, but the unit does need to be a high quality one. At least an XFX TS 550w 80+ bronze.

You are correct that W7 Home can only handle 16gb ram. I personally think the premium paid for Trident, Dominator, etc is not worth it. I've watched numerous youtube videos and read forums, debates, etc regarding just how much real world improvement is really had when getting these premium ram sticks and it's not much. Right this minute you can get G.Skill Sniper 2x8gb 1866 CAS 9 for $57. In my opinion it would better serve you to get this ram and use the $33+ dollar savings vs. the Trident towards a more powerful gpu. Since your mb supports xmp profiles I'd imagine you can get it to run in dual channel.


https://asus.4myrebate.com/?oc=ASU-13523

[Waraji]

Laptop Recommendation!

In the market for a new laptop/notebook, mainly for work/studying type of business. I don't mobile game at all, nor does it interest me. Looking for a laptop/notebook sub-14" screen, preferably non-touch, pre-installed HD not a factor (would probably switch to SSD). I was really holding out and waiting for a Type-C slotted notebook, but I'm really starting to need this now.

Been looking at:
ASUS ZenBook UX303UA - of which the only "downside" is a glossy screen, which really I don't mind tbh. And I really dig the Uni-body design.

Dell XPS 13 - really digging the skinny bezel, but I'm extremely weary of Dell. I like that it has a Thunderbolt 3 though. (XPS 15 very similar but bigger screen which I'm not looking for.)

What say you BG?

[Mrbeansman]

Thanks for all the feedback

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/xW67zy

This is what I got now from this thread.

Also I'm not going AMD. If paying a little more means not having to put up with game works bullshit ill pay more. I might end up going with a 980 ti depending on how much my tax return ends up being.

Still somewhat unsure how to do case fan setup.

[Tyche]

Can someone build me an HTPC? I need it to be as cheap as possible. These are the needs.

Small form factor
Wireless (I have a Nighthawk AC2350 router, so want to take full advantage of that)
Quiet
able to seamless play 1080p and possibly 4k video at a bitrate of 35+ mbps. (doesn't have to stream wirelessly, will probably move the files from main PC over to the HTPC wirelessly, then run directly from Kodi to the TV via HDMI). May get NAS later.

I don't need a lot of bells and whistles. I won't game on it. I won't use DVR. It'll essentially be a kodi box with wireless and high bitrate playback capabilities. Again, cheap as possible but able to fit this criteria.

[Bardicrune]

Have you looked into the Intel NUC? Even their lowest end unit (NUC5CPYH) supposedly supports 4k video. It's currently $129.99 on amazon. All you need to add is a hdd/ssd and memory. My company has been using the i5 versions for about 3 years now and have had zero failures out of about 150 units.

Here's the spec. sheet on that unit. NUC5CPYH