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"I need a New PC!" 2012 Thread. 22nm+28nm, Tri-Gate, and reading the OP. [Part 1]

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Sethos

Banned

Shambles

Member
Do you have a link to the desk? Maybe on their site? I looked at those desks and I do not see a glass one. My current desk has 4 single legs and it is very wobbly. I had gotten it a few years ago when to match the wall shelving unit from the Container store.

EDIT: Oh wait, you pick the pieces you want. Is it sturdy? I ask because my biggest gripe with my current table top desk is that it wobbles something bad.

Here's the link to the product page: http://www.ikea.com/ca/en/catalog/products/S99848216/#/S99848216

The thing is rock solid. Not like your typical glass desk. My wife is using one that is a similar size but it's a whatever glass thing from Staples that shakes like a coward. The Galant is a great size too, nice and large. They sell the table top and legs separately but they're all part of the same system. You can get A or T shaped legs for the desk, and the desk also comes in wood tops as well. The legs are height adjustable, from memory I think i had a good 6-8" of movement with them. I keep my desk fairly high. I have the white glass, my friend has the black glass one. The black looks classier, but it's more of a fingerprint/smudge magnet. The glass top is priced higher than wood but easily worth it in my books.

I like the T legs better since they give you a bit more leg space. My friend has the A legs and they're good as well. Also I think only the A-legs come in chrome, the T's don't.
 

ZetaEpyon

Member
I picked up the Plantronics Gamecom 780s with some gift cards at Best Buy.

I generally only use them when playing MMOs, but the sound is pretty decent, and I've been told that my voice comes through very clearly (compared to the crap mic I had before, in particular).
 

JaseC

gave away the keys to the kingdom.
So, what's the consensus on the overclocking potential of Ivy? I understand it falls short of Sandy, but is a 4.5GHz 3570K on a high-end air cooler (namely the NH-D14) both achievable and safe?
 

Sethos

Banned
So, what's the consensus on the overclocking potential of Ivy? I understand it falls short of Sandy, but is a 4.5GHz 3570K on a high-end air cooler (namely the NH-D14) both achievable and safe?

I believe 4.4 is the 'sweet spot' in heat / performance ratio
 
What's the consesus of the Corsair H100? I bought the Ivy Bridge i7 3770k and was wondering if this cooler is worth the $100?

Or are there any good AIR coolers that you recommend?
 

HoosTrax

Member
Getting desperately low on storage space. Ideally, I'd get a 2TB Caviar Black, but these run $200+ right now, which is bit ridiculous.

So I've narrowed my options down to these:

Samsung F4 EcoGreen 2TB
$129.99 | 1 year warranty

Hitachi 7K3000 2TB
$147.27 ($139.99 + $7.28 S&H) | 3 year warranty

2x Samsung F3 1TB
$179.98 | 3 year warranty
 

Hazaro

relies on auto-aim
Building an HTPC with existing parts (5770 and 4gb of RAM):

CX430 v2 430W @ 54.99
WD5000 500gb @ 69.99
ASRock H61M-VS Micro @ 64.99
Intel G859 SB 2.9Ghz
(all above from OP)
+
TP-Link pci-e wireless card @ 44.99
total: 327.95 + taxes

I already have a 5770 and 4gb of RAM for the machine. I guess my main concern is the PSU and being strong enough. I also think I might be able to downsize the HDD a bit since I don't plan on storing much media locally on this machine. Mostly streaming..maybe just get a 64gb ssd instead?
Antec VP450 for PSU. That's going to be changed along with the whole sheet as soon as I get some goddam free time to sit down with it.
Best defrag app? I just got Defragler and used it overnight. Also have udefrag.
I use defraggler.
Why is so hard to find GTX680? I get in amazon.com everyday and they never have in stock...
28nm yo.
What's the consesus of the Corsair H100? I bought the Ivy Bridge i7 3770k and was wondering if this cooler is worth the $100?

Or are there any good AIR coolers that you recommend?
One's I'd get are in the OP. Can't go wrong with the CM 212+. If you want more, get a HR 02 Macho. H100 is $100+two fan replacements since it's loud as hell.
Getting desperately low on storage space. Ideally, I'd get a 2TB Caviar Black, but these run $200+ right now, which is bit ridiculous.

So I've narrowed my options down to these:

Samsung F4 EcoGreen 2TB
$129.99 | 1 year warranty

Hitachi 7K3000 2TB
$147.27 ($139.99 + $7.28 S&H) | 3 year warranty

2x Samsung F3 1TB
$179.98 | 3 year warranty
F4 2TB no question
 
I just want to brag that I got the Cooler Master 690II Advanced for $50 after rebates. There were two concurrent ones, $15 and $10, and I didn't know if they'd both be accepted for the same purchase but I checked the status and they were. Freaking ridiculous case for $50.
 

Sethos

Banned
I just want to brag that I got the Cooler Master 690II Advanced for $50 after rebates. There were two concurrent ones, $15 and $10, and I didn't know if they'd both be accepted for the same purchase but I checked the status and they were. Freaking ridiculous case for $50.

Indeed it is, enjoy it man.
 
I know this is mostly hardware talk, but what is the best tool to remove old AMD video card drivers? I recently updated them and it may have caused a problem, so I want to do a clean install. Thanks!

EDIT: Problem has been solved :]
 

AwesomeSauce

MagsMoonshine
Building an HTPC with existing parts (5770 and 4gb of RAM):

CX430 v2 430W @ 54.99
WD5000 500gb @ 69.99
ASRock H61M-VS Micro @ 64.99
Intel G859 SB 2.9Ghz
(all above from OP)
+
TP-Link pci-e wireless card @ 44.99
total: 327.95 + taxes

I already have a 5770 and 4gb of RAM for the machine. I guess my main concern is the PSU and being strong enough. I also think I might be able to downsize the HDD a bit since I don't plan on storing much media locally on this machine. Mostly streaming..maybe just get a 64gb ssd instead?

Get the newer PSU that Hazaro recommends and you should be golden.
 
Ok I'm finally building my first PC. I had a quick question to ask the more PC savy people here. Whats the best way to power your fans in your case? Straight to the PCU or directly to the mother board? I'ld like to keep it simple but I want to keep my PC running cool at the same time. Please help!
 

bee

Member
just rebuilt my pc with a 3570k and gigabyte z77x-d3h. took about 2hours, currently idles at 25c in windows with my trusty 4+ year old TRUE black cpu cooler :) this board posts and boots stupidly quick, it beeps once then its at windows like 5 secs later, WAY faster than my old P67 board

just need another 680 or maybe i'll sell my current one and get a 690, wont be for 1-2 weeks anyway
 

ccbfan

Member
What does Power Phase Design mean.

I read it has something to do with over clocking but I'm not sure how to read the numbers.

The motherboard I got has a 4+2 phase design. Is this OK for overclocking?

Now I'm not talking about heavy overclocking. But more like getting a i5-3570K to 4.0-4.3 Ghz.
 

Shambles

Member
I just want to brag that I got the Cooler Master 690II Advanced for $50 after rebates. There were two concurrent ones, $15 and $10, and I didn't know if they'd both be accepted for the same purchase but I checked the status and they were. Freaking ridiculous case for $50.

How on earth did you manage that? I'm sure you must be in the states so I won't get my hopes up but I've been looking for a case, and i've been leaning towards that exact one for a while now. However I'm up in Canada where we don't get the wicked Microcentre type sales.
 
For the people with Hyper 212 EVO, did you have any problems installing it without hitting the RAM sticks, or is that just a problem if you get a second fan and mount it on the other side of the Heatsink ?
 
How on earth did you manage that? I'm sure you must be in the states so I won't get my hopes up but I've been looking for a case, and i've been leaning towards that exact one for a while now. However I'm up in Canada where we don't get the wicked Microcentre type sales.

Yes, I'm in the states. It was a Newegg sale, there was a $20 discount code and a $15 rebate, and I found a concurrent $10 rebate in a slickdeals thread. I think the second one might have been an accident or activated at the wrong time or something, since it seems odd to have 2 rebates for the same product going simultaneously.
 

gate777

Member
For the people with Hyper 212 EVO, did you have any problems installing it without hitting the RAM sticks, or is that just a problem if you get a second fan and mount it on the other side of the Heatsink ?

No problem with my RAM. If it is, just switch the fan to the other side and have it pull out instead of push through like it did before, or get some low-profile RAM and it won't interfere.
 

Feep

Banned
Yayyyyy! Ivy Bridge get!

I'll be asking a few questions here throughout the day...it's been awhile since I last built a rig.

1) Should I use the stock fan that came with the Ivy Bridge, or unscrew the old Zalman (now approaching five years old) off my old Dual Core? It was a sixty dollar quality aftermarket fan, as I recall, but I'm not sure if age or ugly thermal residue would cause a problem.

2) My old motherboard was awesome in that it had a two digit LED which would correspond to what part of the post/boot process it was in, which was UNBELIEVABLY helpful in debugging. If I hit the power button and this things fails, how do I debug it? = (

Thanks in advance! I'm excited...this is crazy fun.
 

_woLf

Member
Yayyyyy! Ivy Bridge get!

I'll be asking a few questions here throughout the day...it's been awhile since I last built a rig.

1) Should I use the stock fan that came with the Ivy Bridge, or unscrew the old Zalman (now approaching five years old) off my old Dual Core? It was a sixty dollar quality aftermarket fan, as I recall, but I'm not sure if age or ugly thermal residue would cause a problem.

2) My old motherboard was awesome in that it had a two digit LED which would correspond to what part of the post/boot process it was in, which was UNBELIEVABLY helpful in debugging. If I hit the power button and this things fails, how do I debug it? = (

Thanks in advance! I'm excited...this is crazy fun.

If the Zalman works on socket 1155, then do that. Ivy has inherent heat problems so stock cooler isn't advised in my opinion.
 

HoosTrax

Member
The Zalman is almost 99.9% guaranteed to NOT support socket 1155, and it's likely there won't be adapter kits for it, unlike newer heatsinks. That said, there are some pretty decently priced heatsinks these day, and you can get a lot of bang for your buck for less than half of what the Zalman cost five years ago.

Check Xigmatek heatsinks for good value for your money.

I don't know which Zalman we're talking about, but heatsinks these days typically do not use massive amounts of heavy copper like some of the old Zalmans did, and rely on the newer heatpipe technology instead.
 

Feep

Banned
Eh. I'm not a big overclocker, I was just wondering if it would fit. I don't feel like waiting, so if I build the rig and the internal temps are reading too high, I can go ahead and just order one later. It's not *too* much of a pain to reapply thermal compound...

Edit: The Zalman part number is ZF9225ATH, though I was unable to find a lot of information on it. What makes it "incompatible"? It looks like all the holes and whatnot line up...
 

HoosTrax

Member
Eh. I'm not a big overclocker, I was just wondering if it would fit. I don't feel like waiting, so if I buid the rig and the internal temps are reading too high, I can go ahead and just order one later. It's not *too* much of a pain to reapply thermal compound...
The stock heatsink would be fine then. I wouldn't bother buying LGA 1155 adapter kits for the Zalman, assuming such a thing existed, it wasn't really designed with the die orientation of today's quads in mind.
 

HoosTrax

Member
Edit: The Zalman part number is ZF9225ATH, though I was unable to find a lot of information on it. What makes it "incompatible"? It looks like all the holes and whatnot line up...
The holes aren't in the same place (I know at a glance, it looks identical). Take a looky here:

The inner part of the hole would be compatible with LGA775. The outer part is compatible with LGA1155/6. Basically, the holes for 1155 are in the same directions, but they're slightly further out (annoying, I know, but the CPU itself is slightly bigger).
 

Feep

Banned
The holes aren't in the same place (I know at a glance, it looks identical). Take a looky here:

The inner part of the hole would be compatible with LGA775. The outer part is compatible with LGA1155/6. Basically, the holes for 1155 are in the same directions, but they're slightly further out (annoying, I know, but the CPU itself is slightly bigger).
Ah, that explains it. I was looking at the orientation of the holes, not their radii from the center.

Damn you, socket gods!

That's okay. I'll proceed with my original plan. = D Now where's that high-stock business card I was going to use to apply compound...
 

InertiaXr

Member
I have a couple questions about RAM usage and overhead:

1. Is there anything 'bad' about using 75-80%+ of my RAM most of the time, similar to how you always want 15% or more of your HD space free? I'm usually running 15-20 tabs of Chrome and Football Manager and am always around 75-78% RAM usage.

2. If so, is there any reason to not get 2 more 2GB sticks if I already have 2 2GB sticks, compared to getting 2 new 4GB sticks? I built my current computer right after Sandy Bridge came out and got this RAM, should I just spend $30 more and get 2 more 2GB sticks and fill out all 4 RAM slots or should I upgrade to 4GB sticks?
 

Feep

Banned
I have a couple questions about RAM usage and overhead:

1. Is there anything 'bad' about using 75-80%+ of my RAM most of the time, similar to how you always want 15% or more of your HD space free? I'm usually running 15-20 tabs of Chrome and Football Manager and am always around 75-78% RAM usage.

2. If so, is there any reason to not get 2 more 2GB sticks if I already have 2 2GB sticks, compared to getting 2 new 4GB sticks? I built my current computer right after Sandy Bridge came out and got this RAM, should I just spend $30 more and get 2 more 2GB sticks and fill out all 4 RAM slots or should I upgrade to 4GB sticks?
To my knowledge, Windows 7 attempts to utilize most of your RAM at all times, so commonly used programs open quicker. There's no point in RAM not being used.

Check the actual usage of your open programs, and if it's still getting close to 4 GB, go ahead and get more. But I don't think you'll need it, necessarily.
 

Rufus

Member
That's okay. I'll proceed with my original plan. = D Now where's that high-stock business card I was going to use to apply compound...
Eh, don't bother spreading it around. The cooler's going to be pressed down so hard it won't make a difference either way.
 

Feep

Banned
Goddammit. I got the wrong Samsung 830 SSD kit...this is the one that didn't come with a mounting bracket. This thing is the size of a credit card.

I wonder if Fry's will have one...?
 

HoosTrax

Member
Goddammit. I got the wrong Samsung 830 SSD kit...this is the one that didn't come with a mounting bracket. This thing is the size of a credit card.

I wonder if Fry's will have one...?
No one will see it anyway, just tape it to something or leave it on the bottom of the case, or on top of the optical drives :p.
 
So MicroCenter has the 2500K for $170 and the 3570K for $190 (if they ever get it back in stock). I'm really going back and forth whether the IB is worth the extra $20. Slightly better performance, lower power draw, PCIE 3.0...but worse overclocking and hotter. Argh, why do these decisions have to be so hard? Why can't Intel just make a single obviously best product dammit?
 
Ugh...Do I connect my optical drive and HDD via Sata 3.0 or 6.0 connections to my motherboard? Its not saying which is which and what I should connect to in the instructions. First time PC builder here. Need help guys.
 

greenry

Member
Ugh...Do I connect my optical drive and HDD via Sata 3.0 or 6.0 connections to my motherboard? Its not saying which is which and what I should connect to in the instructions. First time PC builder here. Need help guys.

HDD/SSDs into the Sata 6Gb/s and the Optical Drive into the 3Gb/s - is what I have always done.
 
I like big heavy wood desks. For those wanting something a bit more modern yet well (partially) made, I hear constant rave reviews about the Ikea Galant, seems to be a special favorite over at OCN.

I've had that desk (black top) for about 3 years now and love it!

Here's a pic from a few months ago (excuse the mess) with 2- 24" monitors on it.

Desk_2.JPG
 
Thanks again guys.

You have won me over on Intel. Maybe AMD will catch up one day, but for now, I am definitely going with the second build (i5 2500K).

A couple of final questions...

I am confused when it comes to the motherboard. In the build I had chosen the ASUS P8Z68-V LX.

But I was checking out the LE and also the P8P67 Deluxe, and I couldn't figure any major differences...just number of USB ports on each mobo. Does it really matter which I pick? The LE and LX are basically the same price, but the P8P67 Deluxe is like $80 more.

I also have an X-fi Xtremegamer sound card. Should I use that in my new build, or just go with onboard sound?

And lastly, should I get the 212 cooler or just stick with stock. Never used a non-stock one before and haven't had an issue, but if this is a better idea I'll go for it.

Ordering once I work out these last few things! Excited.
 
Another question. I'm about to turn on my new PC build for the first time. Do I need to disable the onboard vid port via BIOS or Windows 7 so my graphics card will be the primary video and graphics source? My motherboard is a ASUS P8Z68-V LX Intel Z68 Express Motherboard and my graphics card is a GTX 560. Thanks.
 

Hazaro

relies on auto-aim
Thanks again guys.

You have won me over on Intel. Maybe AMD will catch up one day, but for now, I am definitely going with the second build (i5 2500K).

A couple of final questions...

I am confused when it comes to the motherboard. In the build I had chosen the ASUS P8Z68-V LX.

But I was checking out the LE and also the P8P67 Deluxe, and I couldn't figure any major differences...just number of USB ports on each mobo. Does it really matter which I pick? The LE and LX are basically the same price, but the P8P67 Deluxe is like $80 more.

I also have an X-fi Xtremegamer sound card. Should I use that in my new build, or just go with onboard sound?

And lastly, should I get the 212 cooler or just stick with stock. Never used a non-stock one before and haven't had an issue, but if this is a better idea I'll go for it.

Ordering once I work out these last few things! Excited.
More $ = power regs/VRM to give CPU better voltage = longer sustained and better overclock
Also can mean more USB 3.0 or eSATA, etc. stuff like that.

LX or LE are more than enough for most users.
Another question. I'm about to turn on my new PC build for the first time. Do I need to disable the onboard vid port via BIOS or Windows 7 so my graphics card will be the primary video and graphics source? My motherboard is a ASUS P8Z68-V LX Intel Z68 Express Motherboard and my graphics card is a GTX 560. Thanks.
It'll auto detect and send to GPU if a GPU is in.
Ugh...Do I connect my optical drive and HDD via Sata 3.0 or 6.0 connections to my motherboard? Its not saying which is which and what I should connect to in the instructions. First time PC builder here. Need help guys.
Doesn't matter. Sata 6gbps only matters for SSDs so save your ports for that. If you run out of 3gbps you can use either.
 
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