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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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TheExodu5

Banned
Ordered the Lian-Li V700 last week. Can't wait to get it! I'll be glad to be rid of my hulking HAF X. It was a nice case and all, and great to work with, but it was just too damned big. Bringing it to LANs really sucked.

Not exactly the styling I was looking for (was hoping for something like the Silverstone FT01), but the build quality and small form factor will more than make up for it.

I went windowless. Seems like it will be just too much of a pain to make cables look neat in that case. There's also the issue where my AX850 label will be upside down in there.
 

Yusaku

Member
Advice on gaming mics/headsets? I'm deaf in my right ear so I really don't care about crazy 7.1 surround crap because I'm just going to play on mono. But I want something comfortable and with a mic.
 

_Isaac

Member
So I finally have an okay-paying job, so I get to build myself a computer finally. I primarily want the machine for gaming and possibly development. This will be my first time, so I'm pretty nervous about it. How should I start? I was reading through the OP and looking at some of the videos. I was looking at something similar to the $935 build or the $1340 build or something in between, but I don't want to feel like I'm straight up copying, and I don't know if that tech is old as hell now since the OP was posted way back in December. How do you even know if parts will work alright together? There's so much to choose from.
 

TheExodu5

Banned
If that's your price range it might be worth waiting a week or two for the GTX 670. Might be a perfect candidate for a GPU that would fit a build in your price range.
 

Feep

Banned
Almost there, but...

My last mobo had a 3-pin fan connector at the very lower corner, which was great, because my case's front fan has a stupidly short connector. Luck was not so kind this time around, and there's no way the cable reaches.

1) The fan is directly in front of the two drives, one HDD, one SSD. Is this fan super necessary?
2) Is there a molex-to-3-pin adapter I can buy?
3) Can a 3-pin fan connector go into a 4-pin fan connector? This board has three 4-pins and only one 3-pin, which is weird. = (
 

Takuan

Member
Alright, so I'm still getting temps in the high 30s while idle on an i2500K @ 4.5GHz w/a CM 212+ heatsink. This is after re-applying thermal paste using the spread method, applying a thin layer on the CPU and cleaning off old paste on the heatpad, and I think my temperatures are actually higher across the board. They max at around 80 running Prime95's Blend test, with a variance of as high as 9 degrees from one core to another, so I'm guessing I didn't do a good job spreading the stuff. It's a total bitch to get it spread evenly! Maybe I'll ditch the Arctic Alumina and buy some MX-4 compound.

On the bright side, the machine seems quite stable. I'm planning on leaving it running all day tomorrow. Hope I don't come home to a burning apartment. :lol
 

Hazaro

relies on auto-aim
If that's your price range it might be worth waiting a week or two for the GTX 670. Might be a perfect candidate for a GPU that would fit a build in your price range.
Agreed. I'll be updating builds as well.
Almost there, but...

My last mobo had a 3-pin fan connector at the very lower corner, which was great, because my case's front fan has a stupidly short connector. Luck was not so kind this time around, and there's no way the cable reaches.

1) The fan is directly in front of the two drives, one HDD, one SSD. Is this fan super necessary?
2) Is there a molex-to-3-pin adapter I can buy?
3) Can a 3-pin fan connector go into a 4-pin fan connector? This board has three 4-pins and only one 3-pin, which is weird. = (
1) It helps with temps which is nice. I'd consider it important.
2) Yes
3) Yes
Alright, so I'm still getting temps in the high 30s while idle on an i2500K @ 4.5GHz w/a CM 212+ heatsink. This is after re-applying thermal paste using the spread method, applying a thin layer on the CPU and cleaning off old paste on the heatpad, and I think my temperatures are actually higher across the board. They max at around 80 running Prime95's Blend test, with a variance of as high as 9 degrees from one core to another, so I'm guessing I didn't do a good job spreading the stuff. It's a total bitch to get it spread evenly! Maybe I'll ditch the Arctic Alumina and buy some MX-4 compound.

On the bright side, the machine seems quite stable. I'm planning on leaving it running all day tomorrow. Hope I don't come home to a burning apartment. :lol
Don't fret about idle or load temp differences on cores. The thermal sensor is crap.
What's your voltage? Lower it if possible. Usually 4.4-4.5 it ramps up a lot on what you need.
 

Takuan

Member
Don't fret about idle or load temp differences on cores. The thermal sensor is crap. What's your voltage? Lower it if possible. Usually 4.4-4.5 it ramps up a lot on what you need.

Voltage is default (I think 1.1xx). I didn't touch it at all. It varies though, depending on what my PC is doing. I notice when I'm starting up, the temperatures reported in RealTemp go all over the place.
 

Hazaro

relies on auto-aim
Voltage is default (I think 1.1xx). I didn't touch it at all. It varies though, depending on what my PC is doing. I notice when I'm starting up, the temperatures reported in RealTemp go all over the place.
1.10 is 'auto' at idle. Check it again under load using CPU-Z.
What is that? Video card? How much is it going to cost?
Video card. Probably $350-$400 USD
 

ParityBit

Member
Hey guys. I have an issue with my build tonight. I have a h100 and corsair vengeance RAM with fins. Mwhen it try to put the radiator and fans into the case (nzxt phantom) there is not enough room so it does not fit! I have no idea what to do.

Anyone have this happen or an idea for what I should do?
 

Hazaro

relies on auto-aim
Hey guys. I have an issue with my build tonight. I have a h100 and corsair vengeance RAM with fins. Mwhen it try to put the radiator and fans into the case (nzxt phantom) there is not enough room so it does not fit! I have no idea what to do.

Anyone have this happen or an idea for what I should do?
Are there tiny screws on top of the fins?
This is a main reason I only recommend low profile heatspreaders.
 

Takuan

Member
1.10 is 'auto' at idle. Check it again under load using CPU-Z.
1.336@load.

Edit: Just saw 1.344.

If it helps at all, when the CPU isn't doing anything it's at ~1.02. Do I have some sort of variable setting enabled in the BIOS, or is this a Sandybridge feature?

Edit 2: HWINFO tells me my min VID for all cores is 1.001V, max 1.371V.
 

Lkr

Member
any reputable prebuilt companies you guys would recommend? my cousin wants a new computer to play diablo 3 and he isn't very good with computers and has no interest in building one, but wants me to recommend one to him. he wants a graphics card that won't be outdated in 2 years(i don't think it is possible to explain that graphics cards are technically already outdated lol) but i have no idea what to recommend since he refuses to build
 

ParityBit

Member
Are there tiny screws on top of the fins?
This is a main reason I only recommend low profile heatspreaders.

No. Which sucks. I ended up bending the mounting brackets from the case. The fans on the radiator barely rests on the ram fins. I think it's ok, but if I have to remove the ram I will have to pull out the radiator.

I hope this thing posts when I finish tomorrow!
 
Anyone have recommendations for a CPU heatsink that's not the Cooler Master Hyper 212? Seems like on a P8Z77 it blocks one of the RAM slots.

Hey, kinda like in that video.
 

what_rhythm

Neo Member
I'm currently saving up money for a build, and I originally planned to buy everything at the same time this Summer, after the 660 Ti is released:

3570k
ASRock Z77 Extreme4
GTX 660 Ti
Corsair Vengeance (2x4GB or 2x8GB)
Intel 330 120GB or Crucial M4 128GB
ASUS BC-12B1ST Bluray
XFX PRO550W
Corsair 650D

Microcenter's deal for $60 off a 3570k right now makes me want to pull the trigger early and buy a CPU now just so I can save $60.

Do deals like this come around often enough for me to pass on this one?

Is it better to wait just in case a new stepping to comes out?
 

Hawk269

Member
any reputable prebuilt companies you guys would recommend? my cousin wants a new computer to play diablo 3 and he isn't very good with computers and has no interest in building one, but wants me to recommend one to him. he wants a graphics card that won't be outdated in 2 years(i don't think it is possible to explain that graphics cards are technically already outdated lol) but i have no idea what to recommend since he refuses to build

Here is a pretty good looking pre-built rig on Newegg...It has a Ivy 3770k and a 680 so he would be getting cutting edge as it stands today. Be better to build it himself or have you build it, but if he wants a pre-built this one does not look too bad.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883227417
 

Hazaro

relies on auto-aim
Finished the new build sheet for Ivy. Hopefully last update for a while after GTX670 comes out.
Let me know any errors / part suggestions. I think I did pretty good this go around. I added and changed a lot of wording as well.

1.336@load.

Edit: Just saw 1.344.

If it helps at all, when the CPU isn't doing anything it's at ~1.02. Do I have some sort of variable setting enabled in the BIOS, or is this a Sandybridge feature?

Edit 2: HWINFO tells me my min VID for all cores is 1.001V, max 1.371V.
You should be able to sneak in 4.5 or 4.4 at 1.30V load
You are currently on auto and offset mode. Change offset mode to -0.035V and see if you are stable.
any reputable prebuilt companies you guys would recommend? my cousin wants a new computer to play diablo 3 and he isn't very good with computers and has no interest in building one, but wants me to recommend one to him. he wants a graphics card that won't be outdated in 2 years(i don't think it is possible to explain that graphics cards are technically already outdated lol) but i have no idea what to recommend since he refuses to build
Check the OP, but I don't have anything offhand. You should fill out the op sheet and give a budget.
And with how GPU speed is going I wouldn't worry at all about being outdated.
No. Which sucks. I ended up bending the mounting brackets from the case. The fans on the radiator barely rests on the ram fins. I think it's ok, but if I have to remove the ram I will have to pull out the radiator.

I hope this thing posts when I finish tomorrow!
Just take the heatspreaders off then. No harm done.
So, should I still get the Ripjaws X or should I switch to the low profile Ares (using the hyper 212 evo btw) ?

This guy seems to be cutting it really close with the ripjaws + 212evo
Low profile ares or vengeance is good. I'm updating the build sheet now.
Anyone have recommendations for a CPU heatsink that's not the Cooler Master Hyper 212? Seems like on a P8Z77 it blocks one of the RAM slots.

Hey, kinda like in that video.
I think you can just raise the 120mm fan up, but the 4 people I've asked have not responded to me on that. If it's like the video don't worry about it, I would have heard something by now.
I'm currently saving up money for a build, and I originally planned to buy everything at the same time this Summer, after the 660 Ti is released:

3570k
ASRock Z77 Extreme4
GTX 660 Ti
Corsair Vengeance (2x4GB or 2x8GB)
Intel 330 120GB or Crucial M4 128GB
ASUS BC-12B1ST Bluray
XFX PRO550W
Corsair 650D

Microcenter's deal for $60 off a 3570k right now makes me want to pull the trigger early and buy a CPU now just so I can save $60.

Do deals like this come around often enough for me to pass on this one?

Is it better to wait just in case a new stepping to comes out?
Nab the CPU from MC, look at the Biostar TZ77XE3 right now, or that ASrock for your mobo.
Look for sales on everything else while you wait for GTX660.
 

Feep

Banned
Posting from my screaming fast new build.

This is my first rig with an SSD, and holy shit. Ended up grabbing a something something 212 aftermarket fan at Fry's 'cuz it was thirty bucks, and I'll overclock to 4.4GHz tomorrow, but...damn. Windows Experience Index is 7.7, which is fun. = D

Also the first time I've built a rig and everything worked perfectly on the first try. Yay!

Stealth edit: Oh, yeah, I got the CoolerMaster Hyper 212 Plus. Fits on the P8Z77 no problem.
 
Posting from my screaming fast new build.

This is my first rig with an SSD, and holy shit. Ended up grabbing a something something 212 aftermarket fan at Fry's 'cuz it was thirty bucks, and I'll overclock to 4.4GHz tomorrow, but...damn. Windows Experience Index is 7.7, which is fun. = D

Also the first time I've built a rig and everything worked perfectly on the first try. Yay!

Stealth edit: Oh, yeah, I got the CoolerMaster Hyper 212 Plus. Fits on the P8Z77 no problem.

Congrats, Feep! I hope your rig can run your game with no problems now. :lol

My parts should ship today. I honestly can't wait to get them. Knowing me, it will probably run maked on my desk for a week, before I start with the mod. I guess I should've prepared the PowerMac case in advance, oh well.
 

Hazaro

relies on auto-aim
Posting from my screaming fast new build.

This is my first rig with an SSD, and holy shit. Ended up grabbing a something something 212 aftermarket fan at Fry's 'cuz it was thirty bucks, and I'll overclock to 4.4GHz tomorrow, but...damn. Windows Experience Index is 7.7, which is fun. = D

Also the first time I've built a rig and everything worked perfectly on the first try. Yay!

Stealth edit: Oh, yeah, I got the CoolerMaster Hyper 212 Plus. Fits on the P8Z77 no problem.
:)
Stay under 1.15V load and you should get to 4.4Ghz ok with decent temps.

*Did you finish it near 1am? I usually finish mine 1-4am because that's when the magic happens.
Make sure you use ninite to restock your programs.
 

Feep

Banned
:)
Stay under 1.15V load and you should get to 4.4Ghz ok with decent temps.

*Did you finish it near 1am? I usually finish mine 1-4am because that's when the magic happens.
Make sure you use ninite to restock your programs.
I totally already used Ninite. I love that thing. And yes, around 12:30 AM for me. = D

I'll work with 1.15V, thanks. I'm a little underexperienced with overclocking, but apparently 4.4 GHz with a good fan shouldn't cause too many problems.
 

Karmum

Banned
Dunno if it's been posted, but both the i5-2500K ($219.99) and i5-2500 ($209.99) are $15 off from NewEgg with EMCNENJ23 for the 2500K and EMCNFHD32 for the 2500.

Almost $200 (before tax and/or shipping) for the 2500K isn't too bad, but still doesn't beat getting it from Microcenter for like $180. That was awesome. :p
 

HoosTrax

Member
3) Can a 3-pin fan connector go into a 4-pin fan connector? This board has three 4-pins and only one 3-pin, which is weird. = (
Yes. The 4th pin is only for PWM (RPM management according to temps), so other than the fan running at full tilt constantly, it'll be fine.
 

Kenka

Member
Guys, I might have a concern. I bought the Asus P8P67 LE one year ago with a i3-2100. Obviously, the motherboard is a bit on the high side for that CPU but I wanted to have the possibility to upgrade to Ivy Bridge sometimes this year.

Can I actually ?

Thanks in advance.
 

1-D_FTW

Member
Guys, I might have a concern. I bought the Asus P8P67 LE one year ago with a i3-2100. Obviously, the motherboard is a bit on the high side for that CPU but I wanted to have the possibility to upgrade to Ivy Bridge sometimes this year.

Can I actually ?

Thanks in advance.

As long as you flash your bios, shouldn't be an issue.

Would check the website just to verify.
 

ParityBit

Member
So last night I went to bed at 1:30 [slept 4 hours] and came back into work. My new machine is half built [I stopped once I got the radiator for the H100 attached, but not attached to the CPU yet] and I am paranoid about the machine POSTing! I plan on attaching the H100 to the CPU and attaching the PSU temporarily to test the fans in the case and to see if I get any error codes first thing.

I hate stopping in the middle of piecing the hardware. Time to go home yet?!
 
So what kind of games can I run with this kind of setup?

Phenom II X4 965 3.4GHz
GTX 570HD 1280mb
8GB RAM

Witcher 2? BF3 at highest settings?
 

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. (Asrock z77 Pro4) 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.
 

Takuan

Member
You should be able to sneak in 4.5 or 4.4 at 1.30V load
You are currently on auto and offset mode. Change offset mode to -0.035V and see if you are stable.
Got BSODs on Win7 startup anywhere from -0.035 to -0.025. I currently have it at -0.020 and booted into Windows successfully. Prime95 tests to follow. Is it pointless for me to run out and grab some MX-4? I'll do it if it means temperatures 5 degrees cooler. Then I'll do some more research on application methods - I'm fairly certain that my temps are as high as they are due to shitty TIM clean up & re-application.

Thanks for all the time you put into the thread, btw.

It Boggles my mind how motherboards seem to get more and more expensive as more and more features are moved off the motherboard and onto the CPU. I'm more tempted to pick up a SNB part than IVB just for the motherboard pricing. Even the decent ASRock Z77 mobos seem to be pushing near $200. Perhaps I just don't look at motherboards often enough and don't remember how much I usually spend on one.
I'm sure there will be quality mobos in the $120 range once IVB replaces the SNB market.
 

Shambles

Member
It Boggles my mind how motherboards seem to get more and more expensive as more and more features are moved off the motherboard and onto the CPU. I'm more tempted to pick up a SNB part than IVB just for the motherboard pricing. Even the decent ASRock Z77 mobos seem to be pushing near $200. Perhaps I just don't look at motherboards often enough and don't remember how much I usually spend on one.
 
So what kind of games can I run with this kind of setup?

Phenom II X4 965 3.4GHz
GTX 570HD 1280mb
8GB RAM

Witcher 2? BF3 at highest settings?

Mi amigo, I will tell you from personal experience (since I had the phenom 955), go with an i5 2500k....trust me it will save you in the long run.

Witcher 2 you should be able to max out or nearly max out, but you might have FPS dips if I remember right. BF3 on Ultra I don't think will happen with 60 fps. Your CPU will bottleneck you REALLY bad and really soon with upcoming games and that's one of the reasons I just built my new machine.
 

TheExodu5

Banned
So what kind of games can I run with this kind of setup?

Phenom II X4 965 3.4GHz
GTX 570HD 1280mb
8GB RAM

Witcher 2? BF3 at highest settings?

You'll run Witcher 2 at probably ~35-40 at max settings (minus Ubersampling). BF3 should yield similar results. The Phenom will be holding you back the most in Witcher 2 and BF3, but it's still a good pair to a GTX 570.

The Phenom is still enough for most games though. Witcher 2 and BF3 just happen to be two examples of CPU hungry games.
 
Cool thanks guys.

The thing is I built my PC a few months ago and had bought an AM3+ mobo in preparation for Bulldozer.

Though I heard they're not that good :(
 
I just looked up CPU benchmarks on Witcher 2 and it does indeed look like CPU scales with FPS. Does anyone know exactly why this is? The witcher 1 wasn't especially open-world and AI heavy. I was surprised considering most PC games are console ports that barely take advantage of 4 cores.
 

1-D_FTW

Member
It Boggles my mind how motherboards seem to get more and more expensive as more and more features are moved off the motherboard and onto the CPU. I'm more tempted to pick up a SNB part than IVB just for the motherboard pricing. Even the decent ASRock Z77 mobos seem to be pushing near $200. Perhaps I just don't look at motherboards often enough and don't remember how much I usually spend on one.

Went through the same sticker shock recently. The Asrock z68 Extreme 3 Gen 3 is a very nice board for the money. But like most (all?) z68 boards, it needs to be flashed before it can run an Ivy chip. So if you're not buying from a local shop that can do it, or have an Sandy Bridge you can pop in, you kind of run the risk of getting old stock and no CPU to be able to flash it. I'm sure they've begun shipping with the latest BIOS, but it's always a gamble to order online without knowing exactly what you're getting.
 

Sethos

Banned
Another day, another delivery.

The Phanteks + An extra fan for it, the 200mm for the case and the 3930k.

iBDLiYOmg6uyg.png



All I'm missing is the case, the SSD, a storage HDD and a headamp then my build is a-go.
 

mkenyon

Banned
It Boggles my mind how motherboards seem to get more and more expensive as more and more features are moved off the motherboard and onto the CPU. I'm more tempted to pick up a SNB part than IVB just for the motherboard pricing. Even the decent ASRock Z77 mobos seem to be pushing near $200. Perhaps I just don't look at motherboards often enough and don't remember how much I usually spend on one.
You mean northbridge? There's the overclocking arms race as well as an increased focus on aesthetics. There's also a growing number of features on boards that you wouldn't have seen a few years ago. The debug LED on the Asus boards is a prime example, or the shielded onboard sound on the G1 and RoG series.

Ultimately though, they know that just about anyone with SB, SB-E, and Ivy are looking to overclock with how insanely simple it is. The capacitors, VRM, and phase management all need to be decent quality to handle that.

If you want a motherboard that isn't designed for any of that, there is always stuff like cheap H67s to get the job done. It's silly to look at high end stuff and say "why are high end boards expensive when there isn't a northbridge anymore?". Northbridge is only a small portion of what a motherboard does.
 

Hawk269

Member
Yes. The 4th pin is only for PWM (RPM management according to temps), so other than the fan running at full tilt constantly, it'll be fine.

It will run at full tilt as Hoos mentioned unless you are connecting it to a Fan Controller in which case you can control the RPM's. My Noiseblocker fans are 4 pin, but they are connected to 3 pin header on the fan controller and they work great.
 

Hawk269

Member
Another day, another delivery.

The Phanteks + An extra fan for it, the 200mm for the case and the 3930k.

iBDLiYOmg6uyg.png



All I'm missing is the case, the SSD, a storage HDD and a headamp then my build is a-go.

Oh nice. I have the same processor and the same 200mm fan..actually 2 of them. They are really nice and push alot of air which is really nice. What else does your build consist of Sethos?

I also have Noiseblockers for my remaining case fans with Scythe Gentle Typhoon's for the fans on the H100. Main reason for going Scythe on the H100 was that the Noiseblockers top out at 2000 RPM and if I wanted to go even higher OC on the CPU I would want to go above 2000 to ensure things stay cool. I am running the Scythe's at 2300 default and it works great with little noise.
 

Sethos

Banned
Oh nice. I have the same processor and the same 200mm fan..actually 2 of them. They are really nice and push alot of air which is really nice. What else does your build consist of Sethos?

Currently it looks like this

CM Cosmos II
Intel i7 3930k
Phanteks PH-TC14PE + Extra Fan - Red
Asus Rampage IV Extreme
16GB G.Skill Ripjaws 2133MHz ( MIGHT get another pair, just for show but just feels like a big waste - Also had to make sure they fit under the Phanteks )
2 x Palit GTX 680 4GB Jetstream
512GB Samsung 830 + 2 x 1TB Samsung Spinpoint F3
Seasonic SS-1000XP
Audiotrak Prodigy Cube ( Might get an XTZ A-800 instead )

Then I have two 750GBs with a ton of my stuff on from my old build. Reason for the fans is the Cosmos II has tons of fan slots but it has a few missing as standard. So on top there's room for a 200mm, then I have a spare 120mm that ships with the case from up there I can use somewhere else.
 
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