PC Build Advice/Review Thread

[Isiolia]

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.

Adobe has a 20% discount running through the end of the year, but it's only applied when you put it in the cart. It's actually probably ~$750, though yeah, still expensive if you aren't a serious hobbyist or making money with it. Personally though, I don't think that justifies pirating it...more that the cost is/would be worth it to me if my use warranted it.

CS2 has some potential issues with 7, though I've always gotten it working. It's not installation issues so much as Photoshop (particularly) terminating right after you open it. I think you need to install to an alternate directory to work around it, but it's been a while.

[tyven]

ok do I need a heat sink? i dont even know what a heat sink is. I have an i5 and gtx 570. i will not be overclocking cuz i dont know anything about computers.

[avelle]

ok do I need a heat sink? i dont even know what a heat sink is. I have an i5 and gtx 570. i will not be overclocking cuz i dont know anything about computers.

As long as your i5 is coming with the stock cooler (it should), you should be fine. You wouldn't need thermal paste either.

[Pikarya]

So I'm building a lightweight gaming rig. Looking for suggestions.

Purchased/Already Have:

Spoiler: show

http://puu.sh/ai6M

http://puu.sh/ai7g
(Plus 5 more 120mm silent NZXT fans)

http://puu.sh/ai8y

http://puu.sh/aieU

http://puu.sh/aicr

http://puu.sh/aicO

Not Purchased/Still on the fence.

Spoiler: show

http://puu.sh/ai9L

http://puu.sh/aiax

I'm trying to stay as much as possible within budget. I know for sure a i3 2100/6770 1GB can run SC2 @ Ultra settings flawlessly. So that really all I care about performance wise.

Edit: Also since this system cannot be overclocked. Is the RAM I picked overkill for this project? lol

[Cyn]

Can the aftermarket cooling. Stock Intel cooler will work just fine on that processor.

Edit: Oh, you already have it. Meh.

[Pikarya]

Can the aftermarket cooling. Stock Intel cooler will work just fine on that processor.

Edit: Oh, you already have it. Meh.

It from a previous Core 2 Duo build. Literally brand new and I never used it. So I figured I'd toss it in the new case.

As for the HDD. Its my current HDD on this PC. Since prices have shot up from the flooding overseas I think I'm gonna wait till the prices go down before investing.

Still biased on what I should get for memory/mobo.

[Cyn]

Mobo and memory fall in line in terms of the build. The maximum speed the mobo is capable is 1333, and that's a decent price for 8GB of it.

[Arkanna]

Even if you buy the cheapest memory possible, you're only gonna save a couple bucks. Might as well stick with what you picked.

I know this goes against the general concensus, but I have not had pleasant experiences with Gigabyte boards. Most people have though, so... meh.

[Pikarya]

Only reason why I chose that model and not the one $10-20 dollars cheaper on Newegg is because the cheaper one has badly places SATA ports (They are in the way of most video cards).

[Corrderio]

So I'm starting to believe my Video Card is dying (Or complete shit. One of the two). And curious if anyone knows a good video card that is about as good or better than a ATI Radeon HD 6800.

[Don Katsu]

So I'm starting to believe my Video Card is dying (Or complete shit. One of the two). And curious if anyone knows a good video card that is about as good or better than a ATI Radeon HD 6800.

Why do you think it's dying? Who is the manufacturer?

[Jojimbo]

Have a -35% discount for G300/G700/G13/G110 that I'm not going to be using so I may as well post it here (good for two purchases): rhz58rfnp0

Have to buy from logitech store for it to work, enter it when you check out.

[Fhqwghads]

I know years ago if a new motherboard/CPU was installed then the OS also needed to be reinstalled. I've always just reinstalled any OS when I upgraded. However, I just recently picked up a 520 gig SSD and have it up and running after a day's worth of Windows updates and game installs. I bought 16 gigs of RAM (1.5v DDR3) for $80 only to find out it's the wrong kind for my socket 775 motherboard. Looking at 16 gigs (1.8v DDR2) that would work in my mobo is a joke with the prices being asked. So, I can either return the RAM, or get with the program and upgrade to an i7 CPU and mobo. Three questions:

1) Can I just install the new mobo and CPU then plug in the SSD and have everything boot up, or is it still necessary to re-install everything? (I'm dreading having to do that again anytime soon.)

2) Will an i7 mobo fit in a Socket 775 tower, or will I have to get a new one of those also?

3) Are the power supplies different?

[Arkanna]

1) You'd need to format and reinstall. Sorry!

2) It should fit. Motherboards are generally either ATX, MicroATX, or Mini-ITX. Chances are your case will handle all three types.

3) If the power supply is older, there's a chance it won't have all the necessary connectors. But, it's new enough to work with an LGA 775 motherboard, it should be fine. Just verify that the i7 board you pick has the same ATX12V connector. Older ones are 4 pins (2x2 square) while some newer ones are 8 pins (4x2 rectangle).

Hope this helps. If you need specifics, please post what models you've got/are considering.

Something else to make sure of: when you format and reinstall, make sure your SATA controller is set to AHCI mode in the BIOS. This must be done before installing Windows, and can help performance a LOT on SSD's.

[xerodok]

So, after being accepted into Diablo 3 beta. My current rig doesn't run it as well as I'd hoped. That being said, I went straight to NewEgg.

Please look this over and let me know what you think of my choices, and the prices.

Corsair Carbide Series 400R Graphite ATX Mid Tower Gaming Case - $99
Intel Core i5-2500K Sandy Bridge 3.3GHz (3.7GHz Turbo Boost) LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core - $209
ASUS Maximus IV Gene-Z LGA 1155 Intel Z68 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 Micro ATX Intel Motherboard - $159
XFX Radeon HD 6970 2GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 - $299
G.SKILL Sniper Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1866 (PC3 14900) - x2 @ $49.99 - $100
CORSAIR Enthusiast Series CMPSU-850TX 850W ATX12V v2.2 / EPS12V v2.91 - $149.99
Seagate Barracuda ST31000524AS 1TB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" - $129
Crucial M4 CT064M4SSD2 2.5" 64GB SATA III MLC SSD - $105

Just buying one 6970 for now, maybe eventually down the line I'll get a second one to crossfire. SSD for my OS / a few games/applications.

A few things:

- I perfer having a more expensive case. I've had Corsair cases in the past, they're amazing, good quality, etc.
- I have extra Bluray drives I'm going to use for this build.
- Monitors/speakers/peripherals already taken care of.

Any suggestions on changing out any of my parts? Would you buy this build? Swap out my newer graphics card for two of another?

[Arkanna]

I'd buy it, it looks good. A few small things come to mind:

1) I have a preference toward SandForce 2281 SSD's but your Crucial M4 might be just as fast, idk;
2) The PSU is somewhat overkill for now, though you may need 850w if you end up having two 6970's in Crossfire;
3) There's a product refresh from AMD/ATi right around the corner and from nVidia in not too distant of a time. You should be able to get more graphic power for the money if you can hold out a couple weeks for the 7950.

Other than that, good build. I use that motherboard and I love it.

[xerodok]

I'd buy it, it looks good. A few small things come to mind:

1) I have a preference toward SandForce 2281 SSD's but your Crucial M4 might be just as fast, idk;
2) The PSU is somewhat overkill for now, though you may need 850w if you end up having two 6970's in Crossfire;
3) There's a product refresh from AMD/ATi right around the corner and from nVidia in not too distant of a time. You should be able to get more graphic power for the money if you can hold out a couple weeks for the 7950.

Other than that, good build. I use that motherboard and I love it.

The reason I selected that PSU was to semi-future proof the build incase I do crossfire, etc. Mine as well spend the money now. As for the SSD, I just perfer the brand name of Crucial. They've always made good RAM and other memory, I would trust them with a SSD.

Do you use the Z68 SSD cacheing by chance? I've read mixed things about using it.

[SubzeroDiabolos]

So I was browsing www.newegg.ca and I stumbled upon this: GIGABYTE GV-R645OC-1GI Radeon HD 6450 1GB 64-bit DDR3 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready Low Profile Ready Video Card.

Now, I currently own a Radeon HD5850, and I paid about 300$ a couple years ago. Is it really possible that such an upgrade is this cheap now, or is it not the same branch and quality?

Seeing as how all the 5850 are discontinued, i'm assuming I overpaid for something that didn't work too well in the market?

[Don Katsu]

So I was browsing www.newegg.ca and I stumbled upon this: GIGABYTE GV-R645OC-1GI Radeon HD 6450 1GB 64-bit DDR3 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready Low Profile Ready Video Card.

Now, I currently own a Radeon HD5850, and I paid about 300$ a couple years ago. Is it really possible that such an upgrade is this cheap now, or is it not the same branch and quality?

Seeing as how all the 5850 are discontinued, i'm assuming I overpaid for something that didn't work too well in the market?

A 5850 is MUCH better than that card. Your card is more comparable to a 6870

[SubzeroDiabolos]

EDIT: I don't think i'm asking in the right place, so feel free to skip my post

Ahhhhhh I see. Thank you. If I wanted to run BF3 on max settings, what kind of card would I need? I assume my old processor (phenom II X4 940 quadcore 3GHz) isn't the bottleneck, but my GPU is.

Right now I have to settle on low, could do medium but then intensive scene would hurt my FPS.