PC Build Advice/Review Thread

[Jojimbo]

So at tiger i found the very last 256gb samsung 830, it was on sale too, instantly got it. Found out dad got me the 60gb ssd either way, can't do anything about it, gonna install win7 again on that lol. O well. Or keep the 60gb for something else and use the 256 partitioned for the os.

There's no need to partition, you'll just end up wasting space (or running OS without any spare room). Could always use the 60GB as a SSD cache for your HDD

Planning to order a new comp within the next day from cyberpower...

Anything you guys would recommend changing, I 90% likely will not overclock the processor and will be adding RAM for much cheaper from Amazon.

CARE1: Ultra Enhanced Packaging Solution - Protect Your Dream System During Transit [+19]
CAS: Cooler Master HAF 912 Mid-Tower Gaming Case w/ Adjustable HDD Cage (Black Color)
CD: LG 12X Internal Blu-ray Drive & DVDRW, 3D Playback Combo Drive (BLACK COLOR)
CPU: Intel® Core™ i7-3770 3.40 GHz 8MB Intel Smart Cache LGA1155 [-40]
CS_FAN: Maximum 120MM Case Cooling Fans for your selected case [+9]
FAN: Asetek 550LC Liquid Cooling System 120MM Radiator & Fan (Advanced Cooling Performance + Extreme Silent at 20dBA) [+18] (Dual Standard 120MM Fans (Push-Pull) [+9])
FLASHMEDIA: INTERNAL 12in1 Flash Media Reader/Writer [+10] (BLACK COLOR)
FREEBIE_CU: FREE 500GB External Hard Drive with Intel® Core™ i7 or Intel® Core™ i5 based PCs [+0]
FREEBIE_MB: GIGABYTE GC-WB300D Exclusive Bluetooth 4.0/WiFi PCIe Expansion Card [+0]
FREEBIE_VC: FREE AMD Tahiti Bundle Game Coupon [+0]
HDD: 256 GB OCZ Agility 4 SATA-III 6.0Gb/s SSD - 420MB/s Read & 410MB/s Write [+82] (Single Drive)
HDD2: 3TB (3TBx1) SATA-III 6.0Gb/s 64MB Cache 7200RPM HDD [+159] (Single Drive)
IUSB: Built-in USB 2.0 Ports
KEYBOARD: Razer Arctosa Black USB Gaming Keyboard [+0]
MEMORY: 8GB (4GBx2) DDR3/1600MHz Dual Channel Memory (Corsair Vengeance [+9])
MOTHERBOARD: * [CrossFireX/SLI] GIGABYTE GA-Z77X-UD3H Intel Z77 Chipset DDR3 ATX Mainboard w/ IRST, Lucid Virtu MVP, Ultra Durable4, 7.1 HD Audio, GbLAN, Display Port, 3x Gen3 PCIe X16, 3x PCIe x1 & 1 PCI (All Venom OC Certified) [+73]
MOUSE: AZZA Optical 1600dpi Gaming Mouse with Weight Adjustable Cartridge
NETWORK: Onboard Gigabit LAN Network
OS: Microsoft® Windows 7 Professional [+31] (64-bit Edition)
POWERSUPPLY: * 750 Watts - Corsair CMPSU-750TXV2 80 Plus Power Supply - Quad SLI Ready [+57]
RUSH: No Rush Service, Estimate Ship Date 12 Business Days
SERVICE: STANDARD WARRANTY: 3-YEAR LIMITED WARRANTY PLUS LIFE-TIME TECHNICAL SUPPORT
SOUND: HIGH DEFINITION ON-BOARD 7.1 AUDIO
VIDEO: AMD Radeon HD 7970 3GB 16X PCIe 3.0 Video Card [+311] (Major Brand Powered by AMD)

http://www.cyberpowerpc.com/saved/1EQ86A

Link isn't working, how much is that costing you? And what is it for.

For price comparisons same specs (gaming wise), but overclockable CPU/RAM, and can't be overlocked nd a bit cheaper (well, you can bump up CPU by 400MHz). Although it's missing a few of the "freebies"

[Mrf]

There's no need to partition, you'll just end up wasting space (or running OS without any spare room). Could always use the 60GB as a SSD cache for your HDD

Link isn't working, how much is that costing you?

would be around $1600

[Nitsuki]

There's no need to partition, you'll just end up wasting space (or running OS without any spare room). Could always use the 60GB as a SSD cache for your HDD

whoa never thought of that, how do i do that? the 1TB WD Black drive i'm getting for xmas will be for the other non-important games.

[Jojimbo]

whoa never thought of that, how do i do that? the 1TB WD Black drive i'm getting for xmas will be for the other non-important games.

Oh, just thought that you need supporting chipset, what CPU/MB do you have? Need one from here that has SRT (Z68, Q77/H77/Z77). Alternatively just use it for programs/fraps or something.

[Nitsuki]

i got a 3570k w/ a gigabyte z77 board.

[Kobus]

Intel Core 2 Quad CPU Q6600 @2.4GHz
6GB Corsair Ram PC6400
Windows 7 Ultimate 64bit
ATI Radeon HD 4650
WD Black 300GB @7200rpm
XFX nForce 680i LT SLI Motherboard
ACER H233H Monitor
Corsair GS600 Power Supply

What would you upgrade first/main priority for gaming purposes mostly?

Can't think of anything for Christmas and it's been a while since I upgraded my PC.

Ok, so I now have a budget of ~$700.

Thinking about grabbing the ATI Radeon 7950 as Jojimbo advised. Any other suggestions for the remaining ~$400?

[Shadowhusky]

Is there any place selling the i5 3570k cheaper than 200$? Or selling a 660 ti or higher for less than 250$?

[Isiolia]

Is there any place selling the i5 3570k cheaper than 200$?

Microcenter is advertising the 3570k for $189.99, though I know they were $169.99 for a while.

[Shadowhusky]

Also is it worth spending the extra 100$ on a 670 or will an OC'd 660 ti be the better option?

[Nitsuki]

Now for my final upgrade, time to look for a new video card to upgrade from my 560ti, more than likely using my tax return to pick this bad boy up. Keeping my eyes on a GTX 680, now is it worth waiting to see if the 700 series will come out? OR how futureproof is a GTX680 going to be at this point in time? Planning on overclocking it of course, and i'm seeing different ones w/ 4GB GDRAM, and some with 2GB GDRAM. Will the 4GB be worth it? So far i see the EVGA brand with those. ASUS has 2GB GDRAM, also may want to keep my brand to MSI since i've been having an awesome experience w/ my 560ti twin frozr even tho it's 2GB GDRAM. Shit looks heavy tho, some take 3 slots. lol Also now with a GTX680, will i need to upgrade my 600W PSU?

*edit* MSI looking like the winner to me w/ the heatsink/fan and the stock clock is higher than the EVGA (1084), i'm sure i can OC the MSI a lot higher than the stock clock (1110). I hate the fan the EVGA uses, just the 4GB GDRAM is sorta winning it for me, even though i know the GDRAM matters most when running multiple monitors.

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicati...139&CatId=7387

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicati...893&CatId=7387

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814127693

*edit 2* sorry meant to post this MSI card, looks like the ASUS is winning it for me, highest stock core clock (1137) but again, it's $50 more, and the OCing is going to make wonders.

[Jojimbo]

If you are going to OC then get a 7970/7970 GHz, they'll OC to be on par/faster than a 680 but a lot more cheaper (GHz editions already have a high factory OC but are better binned so might have 5-10% better max OC on average). 4GB is worthless for single monitor, only need it for multi-monitor and a 7970 is better for than. AMD cards should still have a 3 games for free bundle with them as well.

HD 7970 and HD 7970 GHz, both will be as fast as a 680 although the normal 7970 requires a bit of OCing, GHz should be just as fast out the box and still have some OCing headroom. Given the price difference they currently have and the fact that you are willing to OC I'll just try for the normal 7970 I think. Hell for the price of a single one of those 680s you could get two of these and they'll be significantly more powerful (although you don't need that much unless using multi-monitors, for any single monitor a OC'ed 7970 is enough)

[Fairy-Killer]

Running a OC'd Asus 7970 here. I was going to get the Asus 680 but it was out of stock when I bought this. I am completely happy with this 7970, however. Runs anything I throw at it at basically max (Far Cry 3 is the only thing that it has struggled on so far... Max with no AA is averaging slightly above 60 FPS). Also running a 1200p monitor so that could be it.

[Nitsuki]

eh, trying to steer away from AMD considering i had a very bad experience w/ a radeon 9800XT back in the day, never went back to them. Also, i pretty much want physx, i heard that's only available on nvidia cards anyways?

[Jojimbo]

9800XT was 9 years ago >.>

Physx is nVidia only though (for the few games that support it), this MSI 680 is a lot cheaper though and the cooler has had very good reviews (among the best for the 680s from what I've read). Spending $500+ on a 680 seems a bit silly when a $360 7970 is able to OC to be on par with it.

[Siya]

I originally got a 7950, returned it due to it being defective. I heard a lot of people were having trouble with the 7950/70, but it's w.e. I ended up getting evga 4gb 680 OCed for 400, really happy with it (just kinda sucks my cpu is bottle necking it a little...) Physx is also neat.

[Nitsuki]

9800XT was 9 years ago >.>

Physx is nVidia only though (for the few games that support it), this MSI 680 is a lot cheaper though and the cooler has had very good reviews (among the best for the 680s from what I've read). Spending $500+ on a 680 seems a bit silly when a $360 7970 is able to OC to be on par with it.

Regardless, it was a terribly bad experience for me, i got that card for ffxi back in the day and that thing kept screwing up. I just like to stick to nvidia and have the physx advantage, however thanks for helping me save money on this jojimbo, i'm looking into this card now since i can OC it nicely. My question now is, can i handle a 680 w/ a 600W psu?

[hey]

I'm thinking of buying this video card. Any compelling reason to get something else? I could spend a little more, but i'd prefer not to, if possible. This would be $230 after rebate, including tax, which seems like it might be worth it, but requires 2x power cables, and my psu only has 1. Would one plus 1 molex adapter work okay?

[Kayatani]

hlep me plz

Spoiler: show

GPU - Gigabyte HD 7770 OC 1024MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card
CPU - AMD Phenom II X4 Quad Core 965 Black Edition "125W Edition"
MOBO - Gigabyte 970A-D3 AMD 970A (Socket AM3+) DDR3 Motherboard
HDD - Western Digital Caviar Green 1TB SATA 6Gb/s 32MB Cache
PSU - Corsair Builder Series CX 500W V2 '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply
RAM - Crucial Ballistix Sport 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit

NZXT Source 210 Elite Midi Tower Case - Black
Akasa X4 AK-968 CPU Cooler - 92mm

I intend to play video games, including but not limited to; XIV, Skyrim, CoH2 and maybe battlefield or ArmA or something.

Should I get windows 7 or 8? I still have Vista on my old PC, but the discs caught fire so I'm kinda stuck having to buy a new OS.

Links because I was going to buy from there, mainly because it's 5 mins away from me so I can just pick the stuff up.

[Jojimbo]

Overall budget? Some of those components are a bit old, also you really do not want a green drive as your only drive (tbh you don't really want one at all), also never been a fan of ocuk.co.uk and their we're more expensive because we can attitude, although in this case they are only £36 more expensive for your build (not that I'll advise buying that).

This is only £20 more expensive but has a much faster GPU however it is £66 more expensive at ocuk.co.uk for equivalent build.

Either 7 or 8 work, 7 is easier to get "free" and is the preferred OS atm but 8 does work and for general use can be a bit faster at times.

[Kayatani]

I was looking to spend around £400-500 (plus OS), but I can stretch a little if it means getting a substantial and/or cost-effective upgrade. I didn't know about that comparison site, should help a lot, thanks!

My current PC has nearly hit it's 5th birthday so I don't think there's any parts that are worth salvaging besides the DVD drive/peripherals.