PC Build Advice/Review Thread

[Intrinsic]

Extreme 4 over the ASUS board, add a SSD and CPU Cooler.

[Fairy-Killer]

Yeah I just dropped the CPU cooler for some reason. I think I was looking at different ones and removed it temporarily. Here's another thing: would you say the SSD is a better decision over jumping from a GTX 670 to a 680? There's a nice Samsung 128 GB for $90 that's a steal and is pretty much the same price difference between the 670 and 680. Also, is it worth it to water cool vs air cooling? And, I need some PSU advice, the TX650 looked decent, but it seems to be plagued with DOA problems.

[Intrinsic]

I would add the SSD over the slight GPU upgrade, no question. As for PSU, how much power are you looking for? You have a 650 listed there and a 750 in your pcpart build.

[Fairy-Killer]

Well, I originally thought I would need a 750 to power a GTX 680, but, after reading around, it seems that 650 would be plenty. I don't plan on overclocking any voltages so I shouldn't be pulling any extra. So any suggestion on a 650-750 W PSU would be helpful. Also, any help on a CPU cooler would be great. PSUs and coolers are about the only things I don't really keep up with too much so I need a hand. Also, after all the savings I've already made, I might actually be able to grab the i7 AND 680.

[Intrinsic]

If you're going to push your CPU for every bit you can get, then by all means grab an H100. Otherwise, air is fine. I tend to be pretty picky with my PSU choices and I have no qualms about spending for a PSU, but here is what I recommend for 600-750.

Under $100 - PCP&C MK3 Silencer 600w (80+ Bronze)
Around $100 - Silverstone Strider Plus 750w (80+ Silver)
Around $150 - Seasonic x750 or x760 (80+ Gold)

[Pharaun]

Looking to build my first system and after reading through this thread I think I have most everything figured out. I just need help on a couple of things. I have no fucking clue on cpu coolers or power supplies.

Here is the system so far, http://pcpartpicker.com/p/an5O

I'm not sure how much difference there is between coolers. Should I just grab one that's decently rated/priced and call it good, or is there something in particular that I should be looking for?

For the power supply I don't know how to determine what wattage I'm going to need and afraid of getting one that's underpowered. Not planing on OCing anything at first, but I might down the road. I was thinking of 600-650w, but is that good or should I look in the 700-750w range?

Also if anyone has any suggestions/improvements on my build I'd be grateful. I'm looking to keep it in the $1200-1300 range.

[hey]

The cooler master 212+ is great and cheap. I'd highly recommend that, unless you want to go with a good water cooling setup, which if you're not trying to push every ounce of power out of your system, you don't really need.

600w will be plenty for that. You could even go down to 500 if you really wanted. It never hurts to go a little higher than needed though, to allow for future upgrades/builds.

[Caiyuo]

I was actually curious if the more expensive options beyond the CM212 are worthwhile or not, seems like everyone uses it for all manner of builds. Is it just misconception or is the popularity in part because of the price?

[hey]

I was actually curious if the more expensive options beyond the CM212 are worthwhile or not, seems like everyone uses it for all manner of builds. Is it just misconception or is the popularity in part because of the price?

I don't think there's really a whole lot of benefit. The cm 212 is really an excellent cooler. It is far more than sufficient for just about everyone's needs. imo there's no sense going with more expensive air coolers. If you really need something better, you may as well go with water.

[Caiyuo]

Nice and speaking of, CM Hyper 212+ is $10 at Microcenter after rebate right now.

[oblit]

Well, I originally thought I would need a 750 to power a GTX 680, but, after reading around, it seems that 650 would be plenty. I don't plan on overclocking any voltages so I shouldn't be pulling any extra. So any suggestion on a 650-750 W PSU would be helpful. Also, any help on a CPU cooler would be great. PSUs and coolers are about the only things I don't really keep up with too much so I need a hand. Also, after all the savings I've already made, I might actually be able to grab the i7 AND 680.

Here is a good 750watts PSU Corsair TX750 for $50.79 after MIR: http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicati...=31-20570410-2

[Ayuriae]

I'm looking for a new graphics card. I've been using a Geforce 9800 GT for the last 5-6 years. Now that I am older and got a job I am looking for a new graphics card. I skimmed the last 3-4 pages and saw a lot of posts about the Geforce 670/680. However, when I looked it up, it runs about $400-500 unless I was looking at something different. I have no idea if I really need a card that expensive to run TERA, D3, and FFXIV at HIGH-MAX at a consistent FPS even if things similar to Fafnir in 2005 happen. Before I came here looking for advice, I was thinking that a "GIGABYTE Ultra Durable VGA Series GV-R685OC-1GD Radeon HD 6850" would do the things I want to happen. However, I am not tech-savy so I have no idea if I am underestimating what I need out of a graphics card.

Current Rig: (I would post links but I can't)
i5 2500 Sandy Bridge
GIGABYTE GA-Z68XP-UD4
Geforce 9800 GT
Corsair 8GB RAM
CORSAIR Enthusiast Series TX750
2 Monitors

I do not have an SSD. I am looking to buy one within the next month though. Anyway, BG, what graphic card should I be looking into? My initial budget was under 200 but if what I want (TERA, FFXIV, D3 at HIGH-MAX) requires something more expensive, I have no problem with the budget being lifted.

[Jojimbo]

HD 6870 can go for $140 after rebates, there's 560Ti for $180-200 iirc and some other older cards occasionally hit $190-210 in sales/reductions. If you want something more powerful then there is the HD 7850 for $250 which (atm) is all you'll need for 1920x1080 at max settings (some 7850 can be OCed to get stock 7950 performance)

I think HD 6870 would work on those games for high settings, might not max everything out in TERA while still get constantly good FPS and trying to get good performance out of FFXIV in it's current form is a dead lose (can't comment on 2.0 yet though), D3 is relatively simple to max out afaik

[oblit]

I'm looking for a new graphics card. I've been using a Geforce 9800 GT for the last 5-6 years. Now that I am older and got a job I am looking for a new graphics card. I skimmed the last 3-4 pages and saw a lot of posts about the Geforce 670/680. However, when I looked it up, it runs about $400-500 unless I was looking at something different. I have no idea if I really need a card that expensive to run TERA, D3, and FFXIV at HIGH-MAX at a consistent FPS even if things similar to Fafnir in 2005 happen. Before I came here looking for advice, I was thinking that a "GIGABYTE Ultra Durable VGA Series GV-R685OC-1GD Radeon HD 6850" would do the things I want to happen. However, I am not tech-savy so I have no idea if I am underestimating what I need out of a graphics card.

Current Rig: (I would post links but I can't)
i5 2500 Sandy Bridge
GIGABYTE GA-Z68XP-UD4
Geforce 9800 GT
Corsair 8GB RAM
CORSAIR Enthusiast Series TX750
2 Monitors

I do not have an SSD. I am looking to buy one within the next month though. Anyway, BG, what graphic card should I be looking into? My initial budget was under 200 but if what I want (TERA, FFXIV, D3 at HIGH-MAX) requires something more expensive, I have no problem with the budget being lifted.

The 6850 should be way more than enough for those game, I'm not a Radeon fan but there are only two Radeon cards that I would recommend to people. That would be the 6850 1GB and the 6950 2GB. The rest are junk. The reason why the Nvidia 600 series are so popular is because they perform really well. They are the best video card for the money. I sold a few 6850s in BG buy/sell/trade forums a couple of months back. If you can get them for $70-95$ then go with the 6850, if you are going to spend over $120 you might as well add a few more bucks and buy something that is three or four times powerful.

[Ayuriae]

Thank you Oblit and Jojimbo. I decided to spend a few extra bucks and settle for something out of the Radeon 6870 HD series. However, I'm stuck between SAPPHIRE Radeon HD 6870, XFX Double D HD-687A-ZDFC Radeon HD 6870 1GB, and the HIS Radeon HD 6870 1 GB. The cesspool that is Google isn't too helpful in a 2 minute search.

[Jojimbo]

Get this one it's currently only $140 after rebates, Sapphire/HIS are currently $20 or so more expensive although they do come with a DiRT 3 coupon.

Your other option is to get one second hand if you wanted to try and save more money, although I would only buy a GPU from a reputable source or one in warranty (provided it's transferable).

[oblit]

You missed out on a good sale for 6950 2GB a couple of days ago. it was $179.99 after $10 mail in rebate and it comes with Battlefield 3 AND Dirt 3 game.

What is good about 6950 is you can unlock it to 6970 which is a $350 video card. A lot of people are confused about unlocking 6950, they thought we were talking about overclocking it to 6970 performance. Radeon used to same GPU on the 6950 and 6970 but to be able to sell the 6950 cheaper, they locked the 140 something shaders through bios. Which you could unlock it back to 6970 by flashing it with 6970 bios. If you are going to spend $150-$170 on a GPU I would greatly recommend a GTX 560 Ti.

Performance would be in this order: 560 Ti > 6870 > 560 > 6850

[Ayuriae]

Thanks again Oblit and Yojimbo. I'll consider the 560 ti when I get around to the actual purchases.

[Treble]

I'm building a rig of my own for the first time, with the intent of doing 3D modeling and possibly animation (Maya/Zbrush) at home as well as some gaming. I set aside a relatively large budget for this, but I still want to make sure I'm not missing any deals or spending more than I need.

I already bought a video card, decided to go big on it (EVGA gtx 680) since I'm upgrading from more than archaic gear. I kinda want to tailor my build around this purchase and the fact I'd do 3D modeling but I don't know how it will affect my other parts choices.

I bookmarked that PSU Corsair 750w power supply mentioned a little earlier in the thread but haven't purchased it yet -- that should be enough power for what I want to do, right? As long as I'm not rendering, I think.

I know I want a SLI-capable mobo in case I feel the need to use a second card in the future, but beyond that I don't really know what to choose. I was told go with Sabertooth or P8Z77-V Pro, but what will be best for my needs?

Processor: I was looking at the i7 2600K, but I'm not sure if that's too much or not.

RAM: I was also told to get at least 16 gigs of RAM, but looking at all the different types of RAM, its confusing for a first-timer. People I asked recommend Ripjaws though.
Case: I really have no idea beyond "good space and ventilation/cooling". I was looking at the Cooler Master HAFs (932 and X) but they're pricey, open to other options. Also not sure whether I'd need additional fans or not.

Hard drives: Figured I would go with two, but I was told SSD isn't really worth the price tag yet and that I could get more for less money by going with regular HDDs.

Other than that, I don't really know what to look for. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[Jojimbo]

Just how big of a budget do you have left over for this? And how much do you care for appearance.

EDIT:: Oh, and how much HDD space?