PC Build Advice/Review Thread

[Aristio]

CPU - i5 3750k
Motherboard: ASUS P8Z77-V LGA 1155 Intel Z77 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboD...=Combo.1081130
RAM - Samsung (2x4GB)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820147096
CPU cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 Evo
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16835103099
SSD: Samsung 830 Series 128 GB
Case: NZXT Phantom Black/Steel Plastic
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811146068


Total cost = $695.94
Preowned/Taken from pc being upgraded:
GPU: GTX 590
HDD: 1.5 TB 5400 (Slow i know, i prolly will buy a 7200 one soon)
PSU: GS Corsair 700W


Any suggestions? Feel free to let me know.

Notes:

Primarily for gaming, Going to start learning about HD Recording and Editing.
I am planning to OC to around 4.4~GHZ, someone mentioning perhaps a better cooler to go higher perhaps a Phanteks.

Just trying to search for best Quality for Price but not too expensive.

I would change your motherboard to:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131837

Nearly the same product, but cutting down around 60$ and you can bundle it with the same CPU for $25 bundle savings.

And an added bonus of 8GB of free RAM.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820144614

[Jojimbo]

I wouldn't get the LK, budget Asus boards seem rather bad this round compared to the alternatives. The LK has much poorer VRMs than it's competition/-V and lacks a few of the features the -V offers like Fan Xpert 2. If getting a budget board then look at the ASRock Z77 Extreme4 or Gigabyte GA-Z77X-UD3H both of which will be more than capable of OC's you're aiming for (if getting phanteks then stick with the -V imo)

You're getting the bundle $25 saving away so unless you want to save money then I'll stick to what you have (it's RAM with higher than normal timings and and fins which will prevent use of a phantek cooler anyway).

[Adajer]

If you have a Microcenter near you. They have CPU's cheaper than Newegg and bundle Deals. I got my 3570k for $189 and my ASRock z77 extreme4 for $89 because I bought them together. was like $301 after taxes.

[Jojimbo]

Ah true, I keep forgetting about microcenters, wish we had something similar in the UK =(

[Buffy]

If you have a Microcenter near you. They have CPU's cheaper than Newegg and bundle Deals. I got my 3570k for $189 and my ASRock z77 extreme4 for $89 because I bought them together. was like $301 after taxes.

Gosh I miss Microcenter.

[kuronosan]

Question:

Building a home media station for my wife so that we can listen to music anywhere in the house and watch HD streams/movie backups if needed and use the TV to surf the web if needed.

So far I'm looking at an AMD Llano FM2 mATX setup with an SSD for the OS... do I really need an optical drive for blu-ray since I already have a blu-ray player or should I be going for full integration? Eventually I'm going to have the entire house's entertainment system set up through this.

Also, can I get by with only 4GB and play blu-ray or should I get 8GB?

[Obiron]

Question:

Building a home media station for my wife so that we can listen to music anywhere in the house and watch HD streams/movie backups if needed and use the TV to surf the web if needed.

So far I'm looking at an AMD Llano FM2 mATX setup with an SSD for the OS... do I really need an optical drive for blu-ray since I already have a blu-ray player or should I be going for full integration? Eventually I'm going to have the entire house's entertainment system set up through this.

Also, can I get by with only 4GB and play blu-ray or should I get 8GB?

If you have enough storage space, I'm a fan of ripping my blurays when I buy them and streaming anytime I want to watch them. You still need to buy a bluray drive for your main PC, but I've never had to put a disc in my htpc which I feel is worth it.

[kuronosan]

If you have enough storage space, I'm a fan of ripping my blurays when I buy them and streaming anytime I want to watch them. You still need to buy a bluray drive for your main PC, but I've never had to put a disc in my htpc which I feel is worth it.

I was thinking of ripping them and recoding so that I could store them on a HDD instead of using the discs... I have a huge library of movies though... so I was hoping to play them all at 1080P... not sure how much space it takes. I know the digital copy of Avengers I have is only 1GB at 720.

[Jojimbo]

1080p would take up 4-12GB depending on on length and quality (larger if raw), it's possible to get them to <2GB but at that point they're pretty shit quality. If you do buy blu-ray player for the HTPC make sure you get one that includes (good) software or it'll end up costing you quite a lot and/or be a pita to use.

[Obiron]

I'm sure someone else can chime in about encoding them. I have enough space that I've left them as full rips for now. Nothing like streaming a 35GB file lol. I tend to see 1080 torrents around 5-6GB, so that would probably be a reasonable goal for re-encoding.

Edit: beaten by a little bit.

[kuronosan]

So should I just go the compact route and forgo the BDR (maybe buy an external one just for ripping) to save money?

I'm looking at around $350 with everything I have picked out (if it goes on sale for Cyber Monday) but I'm on the fence for a case... I want it to match my theater setup and look like an STB and not a PC.

[Jojimbo]

Got a list of components? There are some nice looking plain/simple looking cases that can work for HTPCs but I think a lot of them are for ITX boards. How much are you willing to spend on the case as well?

[kuronosan]

Looking for a case that blends, my total budget was 350 for parts. Let me get home and I'll get you a list.

LG BD-R, 3D Support w/Software:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16827136249

OCZ 60GB SSD for OS:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820227728

1TB for Storage:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822236070

Where I'm stuck is on the case. I'll need one a PSU, and the nMedia cases look really appealing since they fit full-size BDR drives (and also look like my stereo components already).

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811204035

Not sure what PSU to get. I'm thinking 400W ought to suffice.

[Jojimbo]

Solid 3 is OCZs last gen low end SSD, you can get Agility 4 if you want a cheap SSD (personally I wouldn't buy an OCZ SSD, but they are among the cheapest widely known brands).

2TB green for $96 if looking for larger storage and not much more price. There are also WD reds which were mainly designed for NAS so depending on how often you use the HTPC the power saving features on greens could be better.

For this the power usage would be really low, 50~100W depending on what CPU you pick. Antec BP350 for $26 got good reviews as a very cheap basic unit although has poor efficiency at low loads is recommended to use a surge protector, Seasonic 350ET for $36 is better and doesn't cost much more.

Case looks pretty good, not too expensive and can fit mATX MB and by looks of it ATX PSU too.

Budget might be an issue though, at $340 without a CPU/MB (http://pcpartpicker.com/p/lDAK, ignore blu-ray they didn't have your one which included SW listed)

[kuronosan]

I have the rest of the parts. I'll check out the rest of that list. This will be my first SSD.

[StareDownTheBarrel]

I'm a total computer noob but I'm looking to build a new computer. This is what someone gave me but I see that it already has some compatibility issues. Can anyone help me out? Also does anyone know if this stuff is good for the price? I don't want to have to upgrade for a bit but I'm on a budget.

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/masS

[Fairy-Killer]

In other words, that RAM is shit. 1.65 V for 1600 MHz? looooooool. You could get some G.Skill Ripjaw X 1600 MHz at 1.5 V for a lower price. The better RAM is probably the Samsung RAM Jojimbo keeps pointing everyone towards. It runs at a low voltage and can be OC'd up to 2133 MHz. However, if you don't want to bother with the OC it still runs 1600 MHz at 1.35 V.

Also, RAM OC'ing is a pretty nit picky thing to OC. It gives very little benefit so probably just sticking to the Samsung at 1600 MHz is a good idea.

Also, you could probably dump that mobo and get the AsRock Extreme4 for a bit cheaper. The PSU is also kinda suspect and appears to not come with a power cable? I'm not the expert on PSUs, but a modular power supply around that wattage would probably be better and make the build easier.

[Jojimbo]

^ Change MB and RAM, never liked low end Asus stuff and I only recommend that Samsung RAM because of it's price (nice to see it back in stock though, it went OOS everywhere for a few days a while ago). If you like the look of the case then get it, but something like Corsair 300R is similar price and has things like fan filters and side fans mounts. For SSD you could get a Samsung 830 for $90 or the new Samsung 840 for $110. PSU is pretty good, but yeah doesn't look like the Antec Green units come with cords. Missing cooler though, something like Hyper 212+ EVO is good cheap one.

EDIT:: So something like this: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/mig4

Changed to HD 7970 because you just need to OC it a little and it'll be on par with a 680 + it comes with 3 free games. If looking for something cheaper you could go with a HD 7950, which when fully OC'ed is on par with OC'ed 670. If you want to go nVidia then you can change back, there probably isn't a huge deal in it.

[StareDownTheBarrel]

Since I'm such a computer noob, I have no idea what overclocking even is, so I'd prefer not to mess with any of that lol. Thanks for the tips, I'm time pressed so your quick replies are awesome. =)

[kuronosan]

Would you guys recommend a Samsung SSD?