PC Build Advice/Review Thread

[notorious bum]

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/LG+-+23%...&skuId=4880189

I just bought this for my budget gaming build, after hours of monitor research. I couldn't believe it when I saw it. 23" IPS with 5ms response for $199 at Best Buy. This was a no-brainer for me. I've never owned an IPS before, this thing looks amazing even running off a shitty dell laptop with max res of 1600x900 lol

Awesome vibrant colors and contrast, even with stock factory calibration. Although, they do tout that it comes professionally calibrated out of the box. I can't wait to test this out on 1080p with the 6850 I plan on getting.

While I'm at it, here's my build that I plan on buying tomorrow after midnight(wanted to wait on Ivy Bridges to see if I can save a few more bucks). I'd love any advice on better deals or better parts. I'm trying to keep it at the same price point.


Subtotal: $445.93

[Jojimbo]

Probably, if you buy elsewhere, some of those parts looks more expensive than I've seen.

I don't think i3 IB are out for a while though, it's i5 and i7 that are out on the 23rd

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/7au1 PSU is on offer, cheaper MB with similar features (ASRock H61M/U3S3 has SATA/USB3 if you want them), have no idea if the RAM you picked is 1.5v, better GPU for $5 less, newegg is $7 more but has Dirt3

$374 after rebates, + ~15 for keyboard/mouse

[Cyn]

Can't stress it enough, if you want a good gaming rig on the cheap, all you need is a good, fast dual core processor, 8 gigs of fast memory, and a video card built in the last couple years. Software just can't keep up with hardware these days, especially in regards to gaming. For the cost of a PS3 theses days, you can be running your shit in 1920x1200 with 16x anisotropic and bloom.

[Jojimbo]

Depends on the game, you have to get a 7900/680 to run BF3 on ultra settings even at 1920x1080, and two of either for 2560x1440 / 6000x1080 / 120Hz unless you don't mind lowering settings. But for playing vast majority of games at 60FPS / 1920x1080 with med-high then 6800/560 work well

[Boyiee]

Depends on the game, you have to get a 7900/680 to run BF3 on ultra settings even at 1920x1080, and two of either for 2560x1440 / 6000x1080 / 120Hz unless you don't mind lowering settings. But for playing vast majority of games at 60FPS / 1920x1080 with med-high then 6800/560 work well

Nah. Single 680 eats up BF3 at 2560x1600 on ultra. Sli 680's and the 4gb 680's are overkill until you hit eyefinity/3monitor setups. You do not need a second 680 or the 4gb version unless you are running games at 5760x1200+.

[notorious bum]

Probably, if you buy elsewhere, some of those parts looks more expensive than I've seen.

I don't think i3 IB are out for a while though, it's i5 and i7 that are out on the 23rd

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/7au1 PSU is on offer, cheaper MB with similar features (ASRock H61M/U3S3 has SATA/USB3 if you want them), have no idea if the RAM you picked is 1.5v, better GPU for $5 less, newegg is $7 more but has Dirt3

$374 after rebates, + ~15 for keyboard/mouse

damn, I had no idea about that website. I've used pricewatch and pricegrabber(occasionally) in the past, but I've been so used to Newegg that I didn't think I would save much for it to be worth having separate orders/slower ship. Thanks for the heads-up on the Ivy Bridge, too. I was considering a quadcore when I started, but I don't think I would be able to put it to use, since most games won't on their own. I don't plan on buying a second monitor to multi-task or anything, I'll run my laptop on the side.

For anyone else looking to buy an i3-2120 as well: They're going for $103 until the end of today!(+$11 ship, but still) http://www.superbiiz.com/detail.php?...3-2120BOX&c=CJ

[Jojimbo]

I was considering a quadcore when I started, but I don't think I would be able to put it to use, since most games won't on their own.

A lot of games now are starting to use 4 threads, and it'll only become more common to do so. i3 2120 is a good choice for low budget builds (it does has HT at the end of the day, no Turbo Boost though)

Nah. Single 680 eats up BF3 at 2560x1600 on ultra. Sli 680's and the 4gb 680's are overkill until you hit eyefinity/3monitor setups. You do not need a second 680 or the 4gb version unless you are running games at 5760x1200+.

I wouldn't say it eats its up, unless you play with FXAA (or no AA for 7900). GTX 680 just about hits 65 FPS at 2560x1440 using FXAA (not best option), with MSAA x4 it's around 40 FPS

[notorious bum]

I finally made my order, ended up finding a nice deal at the end on RAM for only $9 more, I bought a nice 8gb kit on Newegg via promo. Thought I would mention it for the poster who is making a build for graphics editing and etc.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820231308

I ended up getting the 6850 as well, because it was actually $129 with the rebate; the 6870 didn't seem like a huge jump in price/performance & reviews were saying it ran hot/loud for that brand.

Well, I hope my posts help out other future builders. Now I pray to the computer gods so that I don't have to RMA anything :D

[Boyiee]

A lot of games now are starting to use 4 threads, and it'll only become more common to do so. i3 2120 is a good choice for low budget builds (it does has HT at the end of the day, no Turbo Boost though)



I wouldn't say it eats its up, unless you play with FXAA (or no AA for 7900). GTX 680 just about hits 65 FPS at 2560x1440 using FXAA (not best option), with MSAA x4 it's around 40 FPS

It eats it up. Go check around on hard forum. Lot of people bought 2 680's and are selling one of them. Mine runs at ultra just fine, I was looking to get a second when I had the chance but it turns out I don't need it. There is almost no point in having two 680's unless you are running multiple monitors. There are some uses, some cases, and some people who will want two for one monitor, but the general consensus is that single monitor is single 680, the card is just a monster @ </= 1600p. There are definitely settings and games that will still make 1 or even two cards crawl, but you definitely don't need two cards or the 4gb version unless you have a 5700x1200 or higher setup.

using FXAA (not best option)

A lot of people will disagree with you on that. Ingame FXAA is terrible but the FXAA injectors are great and I see a lot of people using them.

Personally I like the MSAA quality since I don't need the performance, but I see a lot of people swearing by the 3rd party injectors. Too blurry for me in a game like BF3. It just isn't a needed option on the 680 at lower resolutions like 2560x1600.

[Kazen]

This may be the wrong place for this but I'm in the market for a new laptop I can play games on and I'm trying not to go above $2000. So far I've found two that I think are fairly good but I wanted to get some opinions before I dropped that much money on something. Any opinions/and or recommendations are welcome.

#1 $1599.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...#scrollReviews

#2 $2179.00 (Slightly more than I wanted to spend but I think it's a nice laptop)
http://www.sagernotebook.com/index.p...el_name=NP9270

[Kenshiin]

Somehow Newegg was able to ship my new build faster than amazon was able to ship the new video card. I should get my Newegg stuff today with everything but the video card it in. Can I put everything together and start installing the OS plus other stuff while I wait for the video card to arrive? Or would it be better just to wait for the video card (which should be here next week, hopefully) before I put it all together?

This was my motherboard:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813157271

[Xanthe]

Somehow Newegg was able to ship my new build faster than amazon was able to ship the new video card. I should get my Newegg stuff today with everything but the video card it in. Can I put everything together and start installing the OS plus other stuff while I wait for the video card to arrive? Or would it be better just to wait for the video card (which should be here next week, hopefully) before I put it all together?

This was my motherboard:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813157271

You should be able to use the on-board video to perform your system setup. It shouldn't cause any problems to do the bulk of your configuration before receiving the card, especially if you're going to have dead time waiting.

[Dakin]

Recently purchased 2 more GB of RAM, a 128GB SSD, and decided to upgrade my GPU as well. Upgrading from a GTX 460 768mb, was initially going for a stock 560 ti, but got some input at other forums and a few people recommended getting a GTX 480, link below:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814130759

Most people were saying the 480 runs ~1% less than a 570, but the cons being it is a bit more power hungry and hotter temps. I don't think those 2 cons will be an issue, so is this a good buy at $209?

[Fairy-Killer]

This may be the wrong place for this but I'm in the market for a new laptop I can play games on and I'm trying not to go above $2000. So far I've found two that I think are fairly good but I wanted to get some opinions before I dropped that much money on something. Any opinions/and or recommendations are welcome.

#1 $1599.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...#scrollReviews

#2 $2179.00 (Slightly more than I wanted to spend but I think it's a nice laptop)
http://www.sagernotebook.com/index.p...el_name=NP9270

What size screen are you looking for? 17.3" is a request or are you open to a 15.6"? digitalstormonline.com has a nice line up of different laptops that you can customize and possibly get for a better price. You can even cut off some bells and whistles there for a bit beefier inside. I'll make a build at your upper $2000 for a 15.6" and 17.3" and post them.

DS x15E ($2028 ):

Chassis Model: Digital Storm x15E Laptop (Model: 9150)
Display: 15.6 Inch (16:9) (Resolution: 1920 x 1080) (Glossy Surface) LED-Backlit Display
Processor: Intel Core i7 2760QM (2.4 GHz Turbo Mode to 3.5Ghz) (Quad Core) (6MB Cache)
Thermal Compound: Stock CPU and GPU Thermal Compound
Memory: 12GB DDR3 1866MHz
Primary Hard Drive: 750GB 7200RPM (SATA 3Gb/s)
Secondary Hard Drive: - Not Available
Optical Drive: Blu-Ray Player & Blu-Ray/DVD/CD Writer (Blu-Ray 6x)
Wireless Card: Bigfoot Networks Killer Wireless-N 1103 (Reduces Latency for Online Gaming)
Video Card(s): NVIDIA GeForce GTX 675M 2GB with NVIDIA Optimus Technology
Windows OS: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium (64-Bit Edition)
Warranty Plan: Life-time Expert Customer Care with 3 Year Limited Warranty

The x15E has USB 3.0 ports and keyboard backlighting and a few other things. You can look up the specifics of it on their site and here's the actual link.

DS x15 ($1983):

Chassis Model: Digital Storm x15 Laptop (Model: 9130)
Display: 15.6 Inch (16:9) (Resolution: 1920 x 1080) (Glossy Surface) LED-Backlit Display
Processor: Intel Core i7 2860QM (2.5 GHz Turbo Mode to 3.6Ghz) (Quad Core) (8MB Cache)
Thermal Compound: Stock CPU and GPU Thermal Compound
Memory: 12GB DDR3 1866MHz
Primary Hard Drive: 750GB 7200RPM (SATA 3Gb/s)
Secondary Hard Drive: - Not Available
Optical Drive: Blu-Ray Player & Blu-Ray/DVD/CD Writer (Blu-Ray 6x)
Wireless Card: Bigfoot Networks Killer Wireless-N 1103 (Reduces Latency for Online Gaming)
Video Card(s): NVIDIA GeForce GTX 670M 1.5GB with NVIDIA Optimus Technology (Pre-Order ETA April 20th)
Windows OS: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium (64-Bit Edition)
Warranty Plan: Life-time Expert Customer Care with 3 Year Limited Warranty

The x15 is the same as the x15E but no USB3.0 ports and no backlighting. This one has a beefier CPU and a little slower GPU. I suggest the E over this one but I'm posting both for reference. link

DS x17 ($2120):

Chassis Model: Digital Storm x17 Laptop (Model: 9170)
Display: 17.3 Inch (16:9) (Resolution: 1920 x 1080) (Glossy Surface) LED-Backlit Display
Processor: Intel Core i7 2670QM (2.2 GHz Turbo Mode to 3.1Ghz) (Quad Core) (6MB Cache)
Thermal Compound: Stock CPU and GPU Thermal Compound
Memory: 12GB DDR3 1866MHz
Primary Hard Drive: 500GB 7200RPM (SATA 3Gb/s)
Secondary Hard Drive: Intel 120GB SSD (520 Series) (SATA 6Gb/s)
Optical Drive: Blu-Ray Player & Blu-Ray/DVD/CD Writer (Blu-Ray 6x)
Wireless Card: Bigfoot Networks Killer Wireless-N 1103 (Reduces Latency for Online Gaming)
Video Card(s): NVIDIA GeForce GTX 675M 2GB with NVIDIA Optimus Technology
Windows OS: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium (64-Bit Edition)
Warranty Plan: Life-time Expert Customer Care with 3 Year Limited Warranty

The x17 is the 17.3" equivalent of the x15E. USB3.0 and backlighting. link

The x17E is a desktop replacement and is way too damn expensive, but you're welcome to look at it. Also, from what I understand, more VRAM on the GPU is only good for multiple monitors and such. Also, I don't know if you really need 12 GB of RAM but I threw it on anyways. 1866 RAM has a bit of improvement over 1600 so I'd probably go 8 GB 1866 over 12 GB 1600. I really don't see you ever using that much unless you absolutely think it necessary. Also, I honestly think that x15E is probably the best bang for the buck.

[Draygon]

I'm a bit clueless on motherboard choices, what would be my best bet for an 1155 board where I am going to casually overclock? Looking to spend up to about 150.

[Jojimbo]

ASRock Extreme3 Z68 or Extreme4 Z77 if you are getting an IB CPU

[Draygon]

ASRock Extreme3 Z68 or Extreme4 Z77 if you are getting an IB CPU

I'm undecided on either 2550k or 3570k. Too early to tell, honestly.

[Jojimbo]

2500k or 3570k* Don't both with the 2550k

For most people IB is good though, it doesn't OC as far but it's not like a 2500k bottlenecks easier anyway.

[Draygon]

2500k or 3570k* Don't both with the 2550k

For most people IB is good though, it doesn't OC as far but it's not like a 2500k bottlenecks easier anyway.

Noted. Thanks for the help

[Wetticus]

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/7jK0

Little something I whipped up. No real budget except to keep it somewhat resonable. Focus is on gaming.

I have a 750w power supply I'm going to reuse from my last desktop, and plenty of internal and external HDDs for storage. Bit iffy on the video card. Totally open to suggestions.