PC Build Advice/Review Thread

**Jojimbo** · 2012-11-02 19:14

Intel/Samsung/Crucial were the favourites for last "gen" of SSDs, Samsung recently released the 840 series which iirc looked pretty good.

**Obiron** · 2012-11-02 19:24

I just bought the Samsung 830 and so far I'm loving it. From what I read, the 840 isn't a worthwhile upgrade unless you buy the Pro. The standard version has faster writes, but slower reads (or was it the other way around). Basically they're trying out TLC, similar to the flash in thumb drives, which can bring SSD prices down in the long run. It has been a slower technology historically, but Samsung showed with the 840 Pro that it doesn't have to be. I personally wouldn't adopt it yet though, and stuck with the 830.

**Nitsuki** · 2012-11-03 08:40

I know i asked this before about the ocz vertex3, but i'm getting a 250gb one for xmas and a 60gb one for the os, along w/ a 1tb seagate hdd for storage. Ocz is a pretty good brand from what i've read, but anyone have any experience with the vertex3 compared to their agility4 series?

**Jojimbo** · 2012-11-03 09:35

OCZ is kinda meh and the the 3 series is the one with the problems, but just make sure they have the latest firmware which fixed most of the issues. Personally I don't see the need for 250 and 60; I have a hard time using my 256GB Samsung 830 up (currently have 175GB free) and that's with all my programs plus a few games installed on it, 250GB SSD will be faster than the 60GB as well and imo make managing stuff a lot simpler when you just have SSD + single HDD

**StareDownTheBarrel** · 2012-11-03 13:04

Is the fan optional if I swap out the radeon for the 670 and dont fuck with overclocking ? http://pcpartpicker.com/p/mig4

**Jojimbo** · 2012-11-03 14:32

What fan?

**Nitsuki** · 2012-11-03 14:37

Well, i plan to install most of my steam games which would consist of maybe 150gb already, 60gb would be for the OS only since i'm having major issues with a 30gb partition on one of my old drives. The 1tb hdd is for torrents, isos and stuff, since i have an external hdd for all my media.

**Isiolia** · 2012-11-03 14:39

Originally Posted by StareDownTheBarrel

Is the fan optional if I swap out the radeon for the 670 and dont fuck with overclocking ? http://pcpartpicker.com/p/mig4

Stock cooler is typically fine if you're not overclocking. You can probably improve on it, but Intel is giving you a factory warranty using one. Only real exception I can think of would perhaps be with non-standard cases where you may need a different solution due to lack of airflow.

**Jojimbo** · 2012-11-03 15:18

If not overclocking then you could get a cheaper build and use stock cooler, Extreme4/3570k are only needed if you plan on overclocking (or multiple cards, but 650W PSU is too low for that anyway), I wouldn't get the Samsung RAM if you have no desire to OC either.

If you really strip it down you can get it to $980 with a GTX 670 although you could keep the MB/HDD, alternatively just get the 3570k and sit on it then buy cooler + OC later when it starts bottlenecking your GPU (provided you keep the CPU/MB long enough, for a single GPU system it could take a while for an i5 to show it's age)

**Don Katsu** · 2012-11-04 17:10

I'm pretty sure the 7970 and the GTX 670 are the same price now and with the new drivers the 7970 performs closely to the GTX 680. You don't really need to overclock it and can overclock later if you buy a better fan

**Jojimbo** · 2012-11-04 19:02

HD 7970 always performed on par with a 680 if you OCed them, GHz is better if you don't want to do it yourself but honestly it's just moving a slider for the frequency difference between normal and GHz; afaik no voltage changes are required in most cases (GHz editions are often better binned and can get slightly higher max OCs though). New drivers and three games for free mean that a 7950 or 7970 are much better value (as they have always been since price drops) than 670 and 680 respectively, although some people just want to stick with nVidia for whatever reason.

**DOGMA** · 2012-11-09 18:31

Hi guys!

I've tried making a PC, I'm really outdated on hardware. Last time I bought a PC was more than 7 years ago for running ffxi.

I'm trying to learn Oracle 11g now using different virtualized OS. (newb on linux) CentOS/Red hat/Solaris and Ubuntu, I'l be using windows 7 pro as a host since that's what I'm accustomed to.

Here's the list:

CPU Intel Core i5-2380P 3.1GHz Quad-Core Processor $189.99
CPU Cooler Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus 76.8 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler $29.99 -$10.00
Motherboard Asus P8Z77-M Micro ATX LGA1155 Motherboard $122.99
Memory G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1866 Memory $79.99 -$20.00
Storage Western Digital Caviar Blue 500GB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive $55.99
Case Fractal Design Arc Midi Tower ATX Mid Tower Case $69.99
Power Sup Corsair Enthusiast 850W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V $139.99 -$30.00
Optical Asus DRW-24B3ST/BLK/G/AS DVD/CD Writer $24.99

Base Total: $713.92
Promo Discounts: -$20.00
Mail-in Rebates: -$40.00
Total: $653.92

My lessons starts on Nov. 18. Too bad I can't wait for Black Friday

Any suggestions? Thanks!

**hey** · 2012-11-09 19:27

May as well spend a few bucks more and get a 3570k.

**Jojimbo** · 2012-11-09 19:53

And there's no need for a 850W PSU in that either, without a GPU it'll be using ~150W under full load with a slightly OC'ed 3570k or 3770k. Having such a large PSU with so little load would lead to poor efficiency, making getting an overly expensive unit pointless.

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/n6qK

$642 after MIR, PSU is large enough that you could add a GPU in, however you could easily go for a 300~400W unit with high efficiency like this 80+ gold Seasonic if you never plan to add one (or only plan to add a basic one like 7700 series).

**DOGMA** · 2012-11-10 00:47

Thanks for the advice! I changed the PSU to a 620 watt one and the processor to 3570k. I don't have any plans to add a GPU just yet, probably after black Friday if I see a good deal along with a good monitor, another HD for raid or prolly a SSD

**Jojimbo** · 2012-11-10 01:09

What PSU exactly? Some are better than others. Also keep in mind that the MB you have selected atm poor VRMs which will limit OCing, Extreme4 is the cheapest MB I'll get with an unlocked k CPU and it's not like you're missing out on anything as the case you picked is ATX.

**DOGMA** · 2012-11-10 02:54

Got the SeaSonic M12II 620 Bronze 620W.

**Jojimbo** · 2012-11-10 03:10

That's good, seasonic make high quality units.

**kuronosan** · 2012-11-10 20:15

Advice on remotes? IR worth it or no?

**KallenBlackwood** · 2012-11-18 12:11

Hey guys... the last time I built a PC was 8 years ago, and I got so busy I stopped following tech. Need some help because im looking to build another.

If you had 2000 to blow what would you get? (I only need a tower--no monitor/keyboard/speakers.)

Thanks guys!

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