PC Build Advice/Review Thread

[Adajer]

All 7xxx series cards are reported to be dropping ~$30 this coming week.

Edit: Which in turn should definitely cause the 660 ti and 670 to drop.

[Mrbeansman]

Any advice for getting a laptop cooling pad?

[Stromgarde]

From what I've heard the consensus is "don't", as the increased voltage draw offsets the gains from the air circulation. That being said I do have one which I leave off to prevent it from burning my lap.

[xerodok]

Any advice for getting a laptop cooling pad?

Get one made out of metal and not plastic. I have this, love it.

[Kais]

The N56VZ is also an inch and a half thick and six pounds. Don't get me wrong, it looks like a great machine, just very firmly on the desktop replacement end of the spectrum.

yeah, which is why i'm kicking myself cause' i dunno what i need to go cheaper
think i changed my mind in favor for the n56vz tho.

gonna hopefully stop by b&h photo over the weekend and play with a few. how well does PCX2/Dolphin run on laptops nowadays?
also, when generally swapping out optical drives for hdds/ssds, do you need a special bracket for the laptop or something?

[hey]

how well does PCX2/Dolphin run on laptops nowadays?

Varies from a ridiculously huge waste of time, to perfectly, depending on the game.

Dolphin/pcsx2 aren't games. While new super mario bros wii will run just fine on a low to mid tier laptop, something like mario galaxy 2 isn't going to run at full speed on any laptop you could possibly buy, and even desktops require higher end cpus with significant overclocks to run well.

[Deadgye]

Does anyone know if an i3-2100 would be strong enough to handle 10bit h264 1080 video by itself? I'm attempting to build an htpc and was considering spending the extra bucks to get the i3 instead of a less powerful cpu and a cheap video card.

[hey]

Does anyone know if an i3-2100 would be strong enough to handle 10bit h264 1080 video by itself? I'm attempting to build an htpc and was considering spending the extra bucks to get the i3 instead of a less powerful cpu and a cheap video card.

Should be fine.

[Jakson]

Looking to upgrade my system, mainly cpu and ram, but if there is a good deal on a gpu, I'm listening. This is what I have atm:

- ASUS M4A77TD AM3 AMD 770 ATX AMD Motherboard
- AMD Athlon II X4 605e Propus 2.3GHz Socket AM3 45W Quad-Core Desktop Processor AD605EHDGIBOX
- GIGABYTE GV-R583UD-1GD Radeon HD 5830 1GB 256-bit GDDR5
- G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model

So far I figured

CORSAIR DOMINATOR 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model CMP8GX3M2A1600C9

but not sure on anything else. The Asus website has a list of cpus it will work with but I don't know if that means I can only use those or those are ones they've tested. Wondering if this AMD Phenom II X4 965 will work even though it isn't listed on the Asus site. Any help is appreciated.

[Jojimbo]

Are you looking to upgrade just CPU and keep the MB you have? Also get this RAM, it's cheaper 1.5v RAM with same timing/clocks and won't screw up big air coolers.

EDIT:: Also, I see AMD Phenom II X4 965 on the CPU list

[Jakson]

I'd like to keep the MB, but I'm not like, super attached to it or anything.

Edit: I can dig the ram. The thing is is that I don't see the CPU I mentioned on the website as having the same model number and I don't know if it makes a difference. The one I linked says it is HDZ965FBGMBOX while the Asus website lists the AMD Phenom II X4 965 as HDZ965FBK4DGI and HDZ965FBK4DGM; they are all listed as "AMD Phenom II X4 965" but have three different model numbers, and I just want to make sure that buying the linked one (HDZ965FBGMBOX) will work even though it is not one of the model numbers listed on the website. And now that I look at it, the ram isn't listed on the Asus site, so I guess I just had always assumed that I had to buy ram and a cpu from the lists they put on the board's page. I don't know exactly how this all works (obv lol).

[Jojimbo]

Budget?

EDIT:: I believe that's the product code because it's a boxed CPU and not OEM or something. Linky

[Jakson]

Oh, if I get 2 sets of that 2x4gb ram and the cpu, I'm at $185. If I can find a very good upgrade in the gpu department for like 130ish, great, otherwise I figured my ram and cpu were a bit more behind the times. If I'll end up spending 130 for a very minor upgrade to my gpu then I don't know that it's worth it atm.

[Jojimbo]

Any reason you need 16GB RAM? You won't use it for gaming/general use. Also you can get a 965 BE from NCIX for $86, limited stock though. Probably your best bet for your budget, Intel is current better at just about every price range, even an i3 will be faster/as fast and use 55W instead of 120W, bit more expensive though + need new MB which will put you over budget.

There isn't a GPU for under $200 that'll make a worthy upgrade.

[Jakson]

Yeah, I don't know why I was getting 16gigs, tired I guess. Thanks Jojimbo.

[Siya]

Edit: Wrong thread

[Denchi]

Looking to sell my dual 5770's. I got the Microcenter plan so I'll return then and get my $320 back.

Kinda sick of dual-video cards and I want a beefier card.

What should I go with? The 7950 seems like the best deal right now.

[Jojimbo]

HD 7950 is good, make sure to get one with a good cooler design as AMDs 7000 ability relies on OC'ing

[Denchi]

And I definitely meant dual 6850's.......

[Makwa]

Hope this is the place to ask...
My buddy's looking to build a new pc, and was curious about new PC cases. Anyone got some sites he could look at for cases?