PC Build Advice/Review Thread

[Shadowhusky]

Brand and model? Some older PSUs are not compatible with newer motherboards.

Honestly I don't know. Perhaps it's just best if I replace it, if it doesn't comply with newer gpus/mobos. Thanks anyways.

[Dngnhack]

Time to upgrade my PC looking to spend 600 ish. Need new motherboard, processor, ram, wd black, and power supply. I have the inwin ironclad case. Video card is i believe an HD5870 but i'll have to look when i get home from work. Is this feasible $ amount for ffxi, possible ff14, videos etc. Video card to be updated later if possible so i can get a more expensive one but if neccessary now a cheap one would do.

Windows 7 x64

Any suggestions/links to good deals or full build carts would be most welcome.

[Kalmado]

I'm planning on building a gaming desktop from scratch in the next 6 months (hopefully sooner) and need some advice. To preface I know zero about building a pc. I'd like to keep my budget around $600. Other than gaming, I use my pc for very basic stuff, although with the new one I plan to use it in conjunction with a tv for gaming and tv/movies. The only pc games I've played is ffxi and I just started playing Half Life 2 the other day. I don't know or understand what makes a great gaming pc.

Below is the current store bought system I have. It's served me well, but I'd like better. As of late if I run 2 ffxi processes it kind of goes nuts.

HP Pavilion a6700f
Phenom x4 9150e 1.8ghz processor
4gb ddr2 RAM (can upgrade to 8gb)
500gb HDD
SAPPHIRE 100265L Radeon HD 4830 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0
W7 64 bit
19" LCD monitor

If there is anything I could do for short term upgrades to my current system that would be great. If anyone has ddr2 laying around and wants to hook me up I'll be your bff as well! Give me some ideas of what to get so I can start planning my purchases to join the master race

[Adajer]

GTX 780 released today for $650. OC editions outperform the GTX Titan.

[SephYuyX]

Thoughts?
Going for decent while avoiding large price increases in next bestish.
http://pcpartpicker.com/p/11Mok

[Adajer]

You are buying your PSU from Microcenter and not your CPU/Motherboard?

[SephYuyX]

I didnt even bother to look where it was selecting them to be bought from, was all auto.
Never even heard of SuperBiiz.

[Cantih]

So I'm keeping an eye out for parts and stumble across this (if it's amazing, feel free to post it in the deals thread, I don't want to double post about it.)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817139029

Explanation

Spoiler: show

In the immediate term, I'll likely just trudge along on the Haswell integrated graphics, waiting for AMD to do either 8000 rebadge, or 9000 series planned later this year, and if a price fight may erupt against Nvidia.
Then mid term pick up a card, probably a 760 or it's Radeon equivalent, basically the best performance I can get in the $250 range.
LONG term, I intend to upgrade the system by buying a second graphics card, and while a CPU change may require a mobo switch past Broadwell, upgrading the PSU just for a card is a waste of money if it can be avoided, better just to buy the end state one now.

Nothing else special in the build, no SSD, no flashy stuff.

tl;dr Haswell i5-4670K, & probably a pair of GTX 760 Ti (or Radeon equivalent, something in the 200-300 per card range).

The Question
Will 850W be enough? I hear the 700 cards are very power hungry, but there's no news on the Radeon front (that I've found anyway).
By some off chance is it way more than I need? (Though really, at $86 final, I don't think I'll find a better price on anything lower.)

[Don Katsu]

Lets see

4770k + Z87 Motherboard = $468
3770k + Z77 Motherboard = $274

I don't know if paying 43% more justifies a 10-15% increase in performance...

[Tyche]

The reviews on Haswell have been pretty meh at best. Doubt it's worth the upgrade. I'd probably go 3570k or 3770k and a 760ti and let the tide you over til the Maxwells.

[Cantih]

Unless you can get your gear from Micro Center in-store (not online)
http://www.microcenter.com/site/bran...r-bundles.aspx
It's too late today, but I'm getting my ass up bright and early tomorrow morning and hupping all the way out to Tustin. Save a hundred bucks, fuck yes.

Also, remember I asked about the PSU, NOT the CPU.

[geno]

Unless you can get your gear from Micro Center in-store (not online)
http://www.microcenter.com/site/bran...r-bundles.aspx
It's too late today, but I'm getting my ass up bright and early tomorrow morning and hupping all the way out to Tustin. Save a hundred bucks, fuck yes.

Also, remember I asked about the PSU, NOT the CPU.

Is there any way to tell how long they keep that price going? That seems downright impossible that they are intentionally pricing a 1-day old $350 suggested retail processor at $280...

Hell, I may end up seeing you in Tustin.

[Don Katsu]

I think they are sold out already. I went to add it to my cart for store pick up and it said unavailable

So Microcenter is selling an i7 Haswell for $50 less than Newegg's Ivy Bridge Price

[Cantih]

I tried calling yesterday, but nobody picked up, so I couldn't find out how long it's going.
And yeah, sold out, woke up early for nothing.
RESTOCKED! Reserved a set online, heading out now.

Fry's ad say's they'll be doing the same, dunno if right now, or not until Friday.
http://www.frys.com/ads/page38
And if the shitty copy is to be literally believed, it may only be the 4670 and not the 4670k.

[geno]

Picked one up at Microcenter today. Actually got a better deal than I was expecting too. They had some combo deals with motherboards online when I checked last night that didn't seem to add up correctly (the listed discount would put the price $40 higher than what it advertised the bundle as).

Turned out the bundle price was wrong, but because it was actually even cheaper. The Gigabyte UD4H that I picked up had a $45 off discount BEFORE the extra $40 bundle discount.

How does that store stay in business? Both mobo and CPU are brand fuckin' new, and retail for $580 combined. I got them for $425 pre-tax.

[Cantih]

So uh, I could really use that PSU question answered.

[Dngnhack]

Figures after i pay 229$ for i5 3570 oh well live learn....

ended up getting
Motherboard- MSI z77a
proc- i5 3570
cooler- coolermaster 812
ram- corsair 1600 ddr3 4gbx2
psu- thermaltake 750w modular
hdd- wd 1tb black

total of like 611ish looking to go buy a video card to upgrade my hd5770 now.

let the boards oc genie turn the i5 up to 4.2ghz

[Dngnhack]

If you put your parts all into pcpartspicker it gives you an estimated watts on the top right. For example 2 770's take 460w for just the cards not inluding all fans, board etc etc etc. Depending on rest of your build would probably be close.

[geno]

I don't have any experience with SLI'ing, but I'm pretty sure 850W should cut it. I think you could probably even get away with a 750W if it is a good one, but that Corsair 850W seems safe enough to me, especially at that price. Going above that seems like overkill, unless you are thinking about like 3-way SLI or something.

Don't quote me though, not exactly an expert on PSUs

[Takiwaki]

What I am reading about haswell is that it needs much better cooling options for the same OC that was possible on the previous series. Kinda sucks that way, but I am upgraded from an i7-920 so I might as well jump to the newest. Not like I need to OC past 4.5 or anything crazy.