PC Build Advice/Review Thread

[Wetticus]

Gonna keep it rolling with these suggestions. I have a feeling that some of my leftover parts may not be stuff I want to use, but I'm really just not knowledgeable enough to figure that out for myself so...

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817139006
Power supply from my old rig.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16827151173
Have two of those.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822136098
Old HDD.

How much of this stuff is worth salvaging?

Ordered all this stuff per Jojimbo's suggestions and...apparently the card is on backorder or out of stock like, everywhere. That specific card anyway (Sapphire). How much does the actual manufacturer of the card matter? Seems like all the ones I've actually personally heard of or seen recommended for video card manufacturers are also out of stock for the 7850.

Literally everything else has shipped already and I really don't want everything else to come in and it sit there in boxes waiting on the GPU to come in so...would you recommend that I just get the same card but made by someone else? Get a different card altogether?

Edit: somehow didn't quote the actual build. http://pcpartpicker.com/p/7jTu

[Jojimbo]

Asus and MSI do other non-ref coolers, sapphire is the best/cheapest but not by a significant degree. Manufacturer affects warranty and what non-reference coolers they have/quality of those cards. When dealing with stock cards it all comes down warranty/customer service really, the cards are pretty much all the same.

I think the Asus 7850 is in stock at CompUSA and a few other places

[Misterjingles]

Looking for a build for the wifey to play T.E.R.A. with me. Would like to get the most bang (a bit uncomfortable with overclocking) with a budget of $900 - $1100, would need to include an OS and peripherals.

:edit:

Could bump the budget to $1500, but then she would have a better computer than me ... of course I can just take this one and give her my old one. WHAT A KIND PERSON I IS.

[Jojimbo]

peripherals include monitor/mouse/keyboard? Would see be ok with standard mice/keyboard or a 'gamer' board (or at least something like a Corsair M90 for side buttons)

[Misterjingles]

Yes monitor/mouse/keyboard, regular keyboard is fine. That mouse is actually the one she was looking at lol.

[Jojimbo]

I just brought it, unfortunately I'm not high enough yet to be able to make use of all the buttons but it feels good.

EDIT:: Going to list 2 builds

First:
http://pcpartpicker.com/p/7sI1

OCable, SSD, OS (replace i5 2500k with i5 3570k), has option to CF as well. Can remove SSD if you want to get price down, 64GB should be enough to get TERA/OS and key programs on there but it'll be close depending on how much tweaking/cleaning you after windows install/updates. this guide is very useful for SSD installation.


Second:
http://pcpartpicker.com/p/7sIt

Can't OC/CF, just plain HDD. Performance will be very similar to above but with less room for future upgrades. OS can be gotten using this (I can post this here right?)
Can replace i5 2400 with the IB version, forgot what it's called.

[Ratatapa]

Do you need an OS? Or can you get it for "free", and when will you be building?

http://pcpartpicker.com/ca/p/7mbo + this would be your best bet imo

Thanks for the help got the PC and built it, since i had some more money, I added a 120gig SSD intel

[trinironnie]

Looking to get a new PC for some gaming (FFXIV and Diablo III) Don't know much about building destops but im looking in the price range of 600-800. Been looking on tiger direct and new egg but i don't know what exactly to look for. Would like to run FFXIV pretty good so i can record videos, and actually play all jobs and not worry about my p.c being shitty so i can't do my job right.

[BadKarma]

So gaiz, the almighty dole has advised me to ask you guys for build advice.

My budget is around $700 or so, and he has warned me to stay away from AMD

Dole has already reccomended http://www.google.com/products/catal...d=0CJ8BEPMCMAE

as a processor

and

http://www.google.com/products/catal...d=0CIYBEPMCMAI

for its heatsink.

Now keep in mind I am not looking for Battlefield 3 or Crysis on max setting, but I'd like to be able to play things like GW2 and Diablo III comfortably. Essentially I am looking for the most bang for my buck that I can get. Help me out please, I essentially dont know anything about computers and I'm honestly looking for a decent pc that will last a while.

[Asilius]

no

[BadKarma]

no

Well arent you helpful.

[calinz]

Does anyone know of a powerhouse laptop manufacturer in Europe? (yes, stupid question to ask on an american forum, but anyway!)

Looking forward to IvyBridge and want a laptop with a quad-core version of it. Can't really find anything high-end other than alienware, which I don't really like.

Suggestions?

[Asai]

Does anyone know of a powerhouse laptop manufacturer in Europe? (yes, stupid question to ask on an american forum, but anyway!)

Looking forward to IvyBridge and want a laptop with a quad-core version of it. Can't really find anything high-end other than alienware, which I don't really like.

Suggestions?

MSI has a couple good ones. The GT70 and GT60 might want to look into.

[Intrinsic]

I see some people posting about budget builds recently, so here's one (minus OS) I just finished for a friend who asked for a 700-800 build for his son that's ready for an Ivy upgrade in the next year or two.

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

If you also need an OS, there are some places to cut some corners and still stay in the same price range.

[hey]

Thoughts on a cheap lga1155 motherboard? I don't care at all about 6 gb/s sata, or xfire, or anything fancy. I just need something that will run a 2700k. Is there any reason to go above the cheapest thing i can find, considering i can just barely afford the cpu, and am already borrowing money for the mobo?

[Intrinsic]

Slapping a $350 CPU in a budget board makes me sad, do you really need hyper-threading? As such, z68 Asrock Pro3 Gen3 is a solid board at $100. If you want a z77, I've heard ok things about the $120 Gigabyte and the Asrock Pro3 at $115.

[hey]

Slapping a $350 CPU in a budget board makes me sad

Yeah, i know, but i've barely got enough money to upgrade at all, and i really don't want to drop down to a 2500k.

[Buffy]

Hello all,

Looking to build this computer:

Case: http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicati...&Sku=C283-1187

Motherboard: http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicati...651&CatId=7246

CPU: http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicati...08191&csid=_23

RAM: http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicati...075&CatId=4534

Video Card (x3): http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicati...161&CatId=3669

along with a copy of Windows 7, and a 128 GB SSD drive (ouch they are pricey). I also have a 1k power supply ready, unused.

It has been 7 years since I built a new computer, and that one finally died on me. I would like to build a computer that is going to serve me as long (as long as I make upgrades to CPU and video cards as appropriate like I did before). I would like advice on several fronts:

1. Have I overlooked anything with regards to compatibility? In other words, the motherboard matches the socket for the cpu, the motherboard matches the ram, etc. I don't believe I have, but want to be sure.

2. I know that intel has several great chips out, but would prefer to stick with AMD - if I have chosen a poor AMD chip for the price, please let me know, but I would prefer the responses didn't revolve around "sandybridge duh".

3. I've only run dual-sli before, not tri-sli, but want the tri-sli for multi-monitor support. Anything special I should know? I am a Nvidia fan, but am willing to do switch to Radeon, the 6870 series had a lot of great reviews. Please advise if using Radeon/crossfire would be better then Nvidia/SLI. The price point here is important. I would prefer not to go over 250$ per card, and would like 3 cards. I would be open in particular to a card with a full HDMI out instead of a mini-HDMI.

4. Although this build doesn't currently include liquid cooling, it will in the future. I know to leave room for the reservoir and pumps, does that case suffice? The video seemed promising. I've never done liquid cooling in the past.

5. The reviews on that chip I've read seem to think the thermal paste and fan supplied with it might not be sufficient. How do I identify a better CPU fan?

The computer will be used for general all-purpose (web browsing, schoolwork, etc), gaming (FFXI and FFXIV, CIV V), and the watching of Hulu/Netflix.

Thanks all.

[hey]

2. I know that intel has several great chips out, but would prefer to stick with AMD - if I have chosen a poor AMD chip for the price, please let me know, but I would prefer the responses didn't revolve around "sandybridge duh".

There is a reason why the answer is always sandybridge. It really is far, far better. AMD is terrible for desktop cpus anymore. Bulldozer is absolutely horrendous. Take a look at benchmarks: http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/434?vs=288

You do NOT need 32 gb of ram. 16 gb would be overkill. Going over that for what you plan to use it for will do nothing but waste money.

[Buffy]

There is a reason why the answer is always sandybridge. It really is far, far better. AMD is terrible for desktop cpus anymore. Bulldozer is absolutely horrendous. Take a look at benchmarks: http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/434?vs=288

You do NOT need 32 gb of ram. 16 gb would be overkill. Going over that for what you plan to use it for will do nothing but waste money.

When I built my computer 7 years ago, I was told the exact same thing about 4 GB of RAM then.