PC Build Advice/Review Thread

[Jojimbo]

Extreme4 is good as a budget and cheapest I'll get with a k series CPU but I wouldn't put anything beyond a low end air cooler on it, the VRMs on the UD3H are better quality and it's sort of a mid-way point between Extreme4 and P8Z77-V and other high end MBs. Often the UD3H is only $15-20 more expensive than Extreme4 as well, it goes on sale too. UD3H $148 and Extreme4 $130, or $135+RAM (note it is a single 8GB stick meaning it'll be running in single channel, the fins also prevent the use of high end air coolers)

[Adajer]

Extreme4 is on sale for $119 for a few days.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc..._-13157293-L0D

[Elizara]

Since I'm finally getting around to saving for the parts for a new pc.. (Budget is about $1k, but I could go higher if needed. This includes Windows 7)

1. I usually go for a midrange gamer. I know the i7's are good for that. What's a good solid mb and processor? I do like extra slots if I can get them b/c I do like to tinker with cards sometimes..(not to mention my Wireless-N network card is going to be one of the salvaged parts)
2. With the video cards, what's a good one? Just so you know, I play ff11 on my current rig but I'd like to be able to play some newer games once I get the $$ to rebuild..
3. Anything special I should look out for on, like hdds and memory and stuff like that?

Thanks guys. Going to be watching Fry's for a deal on a case. Also any help here can help me adjust my ballpark figure. And sorry about teh questions, I haven't been in the market for parts for long enough that I'm out of date...

[Jojimbo]

i5 for gaming PC, i7 if you need that 20~30% extra performance for CPU intensive programs. GPU should depend on budget, with $1000 it'll be HD 7870 or 7950 area.

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/EW7f would work, $50 over budget but you may want to fork out for a modular PSU as storing the cables for a 750W in a 200r would be a bit of a pita (550+W would work for single GPU, 750W was cheap and allows for future upgrade)

[Elizara]

Thanks Joj. That helps with my ballpark figure; I'll get to saving the $$. ^^

[trinironnie]

Any good website to build destop computers? Parts / instructions etc etc?

[Tyche]

Any good website to build destop computers? Parts / instructions etc etc?

http://www.pcpartpicker.com

[Jojimbo]

/r/buildapc on reddit has a bunch of links in the sidebar and tons of comments.

[trinironnie]

How is this ? http://pcpartpicker.com/p/F1Ef

[Jojimbo]

Going to upgrade to 2~3 cards pretty soon? Assuming so due to the PSU but if not the i7/X79 board is wasted, you also want 4 sticks of RAM for quad channel if you stick with it. I would consider a better SSD as well, Samsung 840 is a budget level SSD, even if you didn't want to spend on a high end like Intel 520 or Samsung 840 Pro then the Intel 335 is pretty cheap and a better budget option afaik.

[Nitsuki]

wow i'm an idiot, i didn't know the MSI 680 lightning has a switch on the side to unlock the bios for OCing.

[Jojimbo]

Early ones do but Nvidia made EVGA and MSI remove the ability to overvolt their Classified and Lightning cards, you might still be able to increase vcore a bit with the new LN2 BIOS for Lightning but even if you can it's still limited on newer cards.

[Nitsuki]

nah, the new LN2 bios which is on my card doesn't allow for overvolting, however i flashed the old LN2 BIOS into my MSI lightning, and i'm able to overvolt again.

[elison]

Wanting to upgrade my graphics card as I really despise my CFX setup. Wanting to go to a single card for my gaming needs.

Question is, should I buy a current gen card or just hold out until the AMD 8xxx/ nVidia 7xx series are released? If current gen, what's the best single GPU card available on the market? Money isn't really an issue but I don't think I'd get a Titan lol

[Prothescar]

As much as it pains me to say it, ATI 7970s are technically the strongest non-Titan single GPU solutions on the market atm. Titan's a boast piece, while it's the strongest single GPU solution by a significant margin, it comes at an incredibly inefficient value-to-performance cost. In most circumstances you'd be just as well grabbing two 660ti or 670s to SLI with and save a couple hundred bucks. Would honestly always recommend a high quality 670 over a 680 if you go for nVidia simply because I don't find the minimal difference in performance between the two to be worth the extra coinage, but that's completely subjective and comes down to what you're willing to shell out for that extra 5~10% (usually less).

As to whether its worth it to wait or not, no not really, it usually isn't.

[Jojimbo]

There have been reports that the next gen GPUs won't be out until later this year, if they are even released this year.

[SephYuyX]

Haven't parted something out in years.
How's this looking?
http://pcpartpicker.com/p/9pzB

Need a little input on SSD and GPU though.
Haven't really followed SSD too much. Looking at 120/8GB and near top tier quality (depends on price).
Also with GPU; looking at AMD/ATI, and nothing more than 300$ish.

Going for an overall above average, or a notch or two below "super awesome"; more function over cost, diminishing returns, etc.

[Jojimbo]

HD 7950 is best $<300 GPU, do you really need 16GB RAM though? 8GB is fine for gaming/general use and you can get cheaper CAS9 1600MHz RAM; what's the overall budget? And if going for above average then I would get a UD3H at least rather than Extreme4; it's a decent MB but still a budget OC board.

SSD, Samsung 840 Pro is one of the best, Intel 520 is also very reliable and the Intel 330/335 are decent budget drives.

[SephYuyX]

Am, missclick, thought they were 2x4, not 2x8, yeah I only need 8.

Anything closer to 200 on GPU?

Budget is around 1k.

[Jojimbo]

Spoiler: show

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($189.99 @ Microcenter)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($29.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock Z77 Extreme4 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($124.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($50.39 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($73.49 @ Outlet PC)
Storage: Samsung 840 Series 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($94.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon HD 7950 3GB Video Card ($279.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Corsair 300R ATX Mid Tower Case ($59.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair Enthusiast 650W 80 PLUS Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($69.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $973.81
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-02-26 16:16 EST-0500)

Can fit a HD 7950 in that budget, just about. Could get a better SSD if you want to spend a bit more though, not sure how much over $1k you would have gone but $25~35 more would get you a better 128GB or $60 would get you a 250GB 840.