PC Build Advice/Review Thread

[Asai]

Wow that's actually pretty nice, thanks!

[Laude]

So I'm looking to upgrade my motherboard, graphics card, and PSU.

The motherboard I want: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813128510

The graphics card I want: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814130652

And for the PSU, I'd definitely need probably 750-800W because my current one is only 500W, and that ain't gonna cut it.

What I'm wondering is, can my current CPU handle this? I'm not too familiar with CPUs and compatability and whatnot. This is my current CPU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819103675

Would I need to upgrade to a six-core or something? D:

[Jojimbo]

That Card+CPU/MB looks fine, however I don't think you would need to upgrade the PSU (unless your current one is some relabled <400W PoS) with that card, even if you had it all OC'ed.

And are you upgrading the MB for SATA/USB3 support or is there another reason?

[Laude]

The RAM ports are borked. I bought new RAM recently. Nothing wrong with the sticks. But I can't use two of the ports without my PC BSODing =/

EDIT: After some RAM swap testing, I just found out I have defective sticks, so my mobo is fine. Woo.

[Arkanna]

Wow that's actually pretty nice, thanks!

Oh and lookie here, Newegg currently has the Maximus IV Gene-Z combo'd with an i5-2500k for $20 off, totaling $375. Not bad for such a hot CPU/motherboard pair.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboD...t=Combo.777645

[warbandit]

Sorry bumping this since got no aswer not sure if even right place, if im writing something wrong tell me so i can try fix it

Think im posting on right spot, need help since i never build 1 pc but from various store friends etc this what i got, tks for help

CPU INTEL I7 3,4 (8cores)-(check amd phenom II X6 1090T black edition thuban. 3.2 ghz socket am3 125w )
Box ATX NOX BLAZE(check full tower)
Motherboard ASUS P8H67-M
Hard drive SATA 500gb
Memory RAM 4GB DDR3 1333 (check 8 ram single)
Grafic Card Nvidia GTX5600
FONTE DE ALIMENTAÇÃO XFX 650W
SISTEMA OPERATIVO WINDOWS 7 ultimate edition 64BITS
DRIVE OPTICA DVDRW

[Jojimbo]

The CPU is a bit confusing do you know exactly what it is? and what do the (check ...) things mean, that there is an upgrade available or that you have picked it?

Assuming that's an i7 2600 you would probably want to get a i5 2500(k*) and 8GB RAM for better value, a GTX560 is good but I have no idea what version they would give you and as it's missing Ti so I assume its the weaker ver
*Not that the k CPU matters unless you get a P67/Z68 MB as H67 doesn't allow OCing

[warbandit]

The CPU is a bit confusing do you know exactly what it is? and what do the (check ...) things mean, that there is an upgrade available or that you have picked it?

Assuming that's an i7 2600 you would probably want to get a i5 2500(k*) and 8GB RAM for better value, a GTX560 is good but I have no idea what version they would give you and as it's missing Ti so I assume its the weaker ver
*Not that the k CPU matters unless you get a P67/Z68 MB as H67 doesn't allow OCing

Sorry idk what CPU is since guy only said i7 3,4wiht 8 cores, as for check means see if AMD was the same power since one person told me they cheaper , so guess i5 better then a i7.
As for grafic is this one if not mistaken VGA ASUS ENGTX560 DirectCu II 1GB DDR5 2XDVI - ENGTX560.
Tks for help, trying to build something that can run battlefield3 and skyrim on max so i don´t have to worry about upgrading any time soon

[Arkanna]

A GTX 560 will struggle with BF3 on max at 1920x1080 or up.

[warbandit]

What would be better? So far it seems
i5 2500 (4cores?)
8Gb ram DDR3
500-1T of hard drive SATA
Motherboard ASUS P8H67-M(not sure what H67 doesn't allow OCing means , assuming is overclock if not mistaken, but i prefer avoid overclocking the system)
missing grafic then if rest correct, sorry so many questions but noobsish @ this

[Arkanna]

Well, what resolution are you going to be running at? Need more details.

Also, it's kind of silly to pair a 2500k with an H67 motherboard, because k-series Sandy Bridges are unlocked (meaning, yes, they can be overclocked) while the H67 doesn't allow overclocking. This is a nitpick mainly because an i5-2500k will work fine in an H67 board.

[warbandit]

Well, what resolution are you going to be running at? Need more details.

Also, it's kind of silly to pair a 2500k with an H67 motherboard, because k-series Sandy Bridges are unlocked (meaning, yes, they can be overclocked) while the H67 doesn't allow overclocking. This is a nitpick mainly because an i5-2500k will work fine in an H67 board.

Sorry like i said noobish on this, never tought on resolution always been playing @ 800x600 (didn´t pick a new monitor yet,something at least 24" in size, 1920x1080) since pc is way old (starcraft 2 runs but only if everyting minium) like i said trying for something that runs battlefield 3 and skyrim @ max so no worries about upgrading soon (a few years) so i guess 1920x1080 for those games unless thats just a silly matter.
I fixed that is a i5 2500 since i don´t want to overclock system assuming is still a H67 MOBO anyway

[Arkanna]

You'll probably want a GTX 570 or a Radeon 6950 at minimum, then.

[warbandit]

Ok tks assume this final build then
i5 2500 (4cores?)
8Gb ram DDR3
500-1T of hard drive SATA
Motherboard ASUS P8H67-M
GTX 570 or a Radeon 6950

tks for help

[Arkanna]

The i7-2600 is also only 4 cores, but it has Hyperthreading so it appears as 8 cores to the OS. Your build looks fine.

[Asai]

Oh and lookie here, Newegg currently has the Maximus IV Gene-Z combo'd with an i5-2500k for $20 off, totaling $375. Not bad for such a hot CPU/motherboard pair.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboD...t=Combo.777645

http://t2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:A...TW8Eu7hNlCOCew

[Dominico]

Need some help with picking a laptop por favor. Mostly going to be using it for design stuff (Photoshop, InDesign, Illustrator), FFXI, regular web browsing and other usual crap. Might also play Diable 3. Yes, I know it's a PC and I should get a Mac for design stuff, but Macs are retardedly expensive and I could do all my design work just fine on a PC (did all my design shit in college on my PC). Heres the link of something I found and liked at BB:

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/HP+-+Pav...ef=10&slloc=01

The only thing that sorta kinda worries me is that its an AMD processor. With AMD now doing mobile processors only should that be a concern? Gracias for any help.

On a separate note, is there any way to LEGALLY buy Adobe CS5 for non-stupid prices? The student edition is a good price, but I finished my degree 3 years ago and don't really feel like enrolling in 1 class so I can get the discount.

[Isiolia]

- Macs have little going for them anymore to make them the default for graphics work. There are a few things - Macbook Pros have good LCDs, OS X natively handles RAW, etc...but for the most part I'd say it's more a matter of what other people you need to work with have. I mean, if you're constantly dealing with a Mac-centric print shop...it might save you time/money to get a Mac. If not, /shrug.

- AMD is just not trying to compete with Intel for the performance crown. They're still doing desktop CPUs. That said, the CPU in the laptop you mentioned is one of their Fusion APUs. The CPU is meh, the GPU is meh, but combined they can do a bit better for some things than Intel's integrated GPU. (some performance numbers here). 'course, it is a $600 laptop, so you can't expect too much. It won't be great for much of anything, but it should do most of what you mentioned (might suck for Diablo III).

- Look at options directly from Adobe. Upgrade pricing varies almost by the version you're starting with, plus they have options you might not see much elsewhere, like going to Design Premium from Standard. AFAIK, Adobe is doing a discount through the end of the year, though that's reflected most other place too I think. I still doubt you'd be looking at less than several hundred bucks though (I've looked at it for myself, since I've still got CS2). It is expensive, but it's a professional tool n' all, and there are cheaper alternatives.

[Senji]

If you can't/aren't a student or claiming adobe as a tax write off, then you should be pirating it.

[Dominico]

If you can't/aren't a student or claiming adobe as a tax write off, then you should be pirating it.

Well I have CS2 right now, but I wanted to upgrade to CS5. Even the upgrade costs roughly 1k if you're not a student, which is fucking ridiculous for a program thats for personal use. That being said, I guess I could just keep using CS2, since it's always done what I've needed from it. I've never used Windows 7 before (yea, yea...) so will I have any issues installing CS2 onto a W7 machine? It looks like the laptop includes the 64 bit version if it matters. I don't know how compatability is between programs made for XP being installed on Windows 7.