[Hazaro]

System has been up and running for over a day now. I'm pretty impressed by this chip. While it only scores a 7.1 for the CPU index on Windows Index (compared to 7.4 for my old Q9400) it beats the Q9400 in graphics and gaming graphics by a score of 7.6 vs 7.5. The 2120 (8GB RAM, 2 HD, DVD, GTX 460, 4 120mm fans, 1 80 mm fan, and 80 plus power supply) system idles at 64 - 67 watts vs 98 - 100 for the Q9400 system (4GM RAM, 2 HD, DVD, GTX 460, 3 120mm fans, 1 92mm fan, 1 80 mm fan, and 80 plus power supply). With both cores of the 2120 running at 100 percent, I'm still a little under 100 watts drawn. For graphical intense games, I'm GPU limited just like with the Q9400 (although I've seen enough benches to know the i3 2120 is a little better). Running the GTA IV Lost & Damned Benchmark with settings as high as my 1GB VRAM would allow, the i3 2120 was about 5 percent faster (although both had the GTX 460 red lined at 99 percent utilization). The difference was the Q9400 system benchmark peaked at 262 watts vs the i3 2120 system peaking at 203. After the benchmark ended and the opening mission started, the games was consistently in the low 180s (compared to 240 - 250 for the Q9400). Haven't played around with undervolting too much. Randomly choose 1.04 volts (running at around 1.0 volts) and no issues. Haven't played with the kill-a-watt too much. Not sure where the land of diminishing returns is yet. Like a previous poster said, Windows 7 booted up. Although I reformatted and did a clean install. Windows requested an automated telephone activation, but aside from having to enter in 50 numbers, it was very painless.

That's great to hear. I know the 2100 is a very capable chip, but matching it with a quad in GTA makes me feel a lot more comfortable.

someone needs to start a budget PC gaming thread. when I read someone has $1200 to spend on a graphics card, makes me feel this is a brag thread or a 1% thread. We should have 2 separate threads high-end and low-med end.

$5(6)00 rig in the OP will play a large majority of games at 1080p at 60fps med-hig settings.

That said I do plan on boosting awareness for a really powerful budget computer when the new mid range GPUs come out if things line up well enough.

[aznpxdd]

Whatever you do, don't get a non-reference card that you're planning to OC. The heatpipe designs do not like the 90 degree rotation at all. Nice build tho!

I actually think I do have a none reference card, but my temps are fine even after overclocking the GTX570. Its sitting at 28c idle and about 68c under load, and that's with all the fans on low!

That's a really different setup, I like it. How is the air flow moving? Are the two bottom fans pulling air in or out? It looks like the cpu heatsink fan and the two bottom ones are blowing air at each other.... or is the cpu heatsink fan only pulling air away and upwards? I thought with aftermarket coolers you had the option to add a second fan, but one should always be blowing at it? That just makes sense to me, I have no idea though.

The airflow is from bottom to top, since hot air rises (Silverstone is genius!). Don't worry, all the fans are blowing in the right direction!

[Hazaro]

The heatpipe orientation can be an issue on some designs. Sadly it's really hard to know about it.

I remember one of the Vendetta CPU coolers mounted at a 90 degree angle provided something like 74C load vs 50C load in the other way.

[1-D_FTW]

That's great to hear. I know the 2100 is a very capable chip, but matching it with a quad in GTA makes me feel a lot more comfortable.

Definitely. GTA IV was the game the most hammered home that my dual core e6750 just couldn't cut it any more and I needed a quad core replacement. The fact they've now made the 2100 series 4 threads is a massive boost to the budget line. Even the Core 2's weren't struggling that much because they weren't powerful enough, it was the 2 threads that killed them in certain games.

It's the reason I'm skeptical of investing too much before next gen. If the new consoles go too many threads, it'll be a port bottleneck again.

Edit: Forgot to mention the Q9400 was overclocked to 3.4 ghz. So it lost in GTA 4 even though it had the higher clock speed.

[MrBelmontvedere]

Definitely. GTA IV was the game the most hammered home that my dual core e6750 just couldn't cut it any more and I needed a quad core replacement. The fact they've now made the 2100 series 4 threads is a massive boost to the budget line. Even the Core 2's weren't struggling that much because they weren't powerful enough, it was the 2 threads that killed them in certain games. It's the reason I'm skeptical of investing too much before next gen. If the new consoles go too many threads, it'll be a port bottleneck again.

for real! currently only the Xeons and "Extreme Edition" CPUs have six cores, and they are hella expensive. I hope Intel releases a reasonably priced 6 core, or even better an 8 core (knock on wood) before the next-gen starts.

[Khorino]

So, in a few weeks I'll finally do this. I'll go from a:

Core 2 Duo E7400
4 GB RAM
HDD 120GB/500GB
GTS 250
Asus P5KPL-CM

to:

i7 2600k
16 GB RAM
HDD 2 TB
Radeon 7970
Asus P8Z68-V Pro

[vaelic]

If you are unhappy with your current performance, it is a decent jump, especially if you are up for OC'ing the card.

so you're saying yes it is worth it then :)

[Hazaro]

Don't buy your GPU until nVidia launches imo. Might see some price competition.

so you're saying yes it is worth it then :)

You too.

Wait 3-4 weeks.

[vaelic]

Don't buy your GPU until nVidia launches imo. Might see some price competition. You too. Wait 3-4 weeks.

got it. will do :)

thanks!

[aznpxdd]

So, in a few weeks I'll finally do this. I'll go from a: Core 2 Duo E7400 4 GB RAM HDD 120GB/500GB GTS 250 Asus P5KPL-CM to: i7 2600k 16 GB RAM HDD 2 TB Radeon 7970 Asus P8Z68-V Pro

I would suggest to get a 128GB SSD for OS and frequent used programs/games, it makes a world of difference.

[KMD]

I haven't kept up with info about nvidias upcoming cards. If I'm looking to replace my 560 ti with a better card, would it be wise to wait for a ~350$ new nvidia, our just grab a 570 our 580?

[Hazaro]

I haven't kept up with info about nvidias upcoming cards. If I'm looking to replace my 560 ti with a better card, would it be wise to wait for a ~350$ new nvidia, our just grab a 570 our 580?

I would definitely wait it out.

[Sethos]

I haven't kept up with info about nvidias upcoming cards. If I'm looking to replace my 560 ti with a better card, would it be wise to wait for a ~350$ new nvidia, our just grab a 570 our 580?

Rumours are the first line of cards will hit / be announced on the 23rd this month, you definitely need to wait - It'll shake up the market prices.

[Barrow Roll]

So I'm looking to buy my first real gaming PC and my friend put together a parts list for me. He's a pretty big PC gamer so I trust his judgement but a second opinion is nice so I hope you guys can help.

The first 3 items are in a bundle.

• Gigabyte P67X-UD3-B3 ATX LGA1155 P67 DDR3 3PCI-E1 2PCI 2PCI-E16 CrossFireX SATA3 USB3.0 Motherboard
• Intel Core i5 2550K Quad Core Unlocked Processor LGA1155 3.4GHZ Sandy Bridge 6MB
• Kingston HyperX KHX1600C9D3K2/8GX 8GB 2X4GB DDR3-1600 XMP Dual Channel Memory Kit
• MSI GeForce GTX 560 Ti Twin Frozr II OC 880MHZ 1GB GDDR5 Dual DVI Mini-HDMI DX11 PCI-E Video Card
• Coolermaster cm 690 II Advanced ATX Mid Tower Case Black 4X5.25 1X3.5EXT 6X3.5INT *No PSU*
• Antec Earthwatts 750W Modular Power Supply ATX12V V2.2 EPS12V Active PFC 80PLUS 135mm Fan
• Seagate Barracuda 2TB 7200RPM SATA3 64MB Cache 3.5IN Internal Hard Drive

Sorry about the super long names, they're just straight up copy and paste from NCIX. Hoping to know how well this thing should run and if I'll be able to run Dolphin. Thanks to whoever decides to take a stab at it.

[Hazaro]

Should mention first 3 parts are a bundle, otherwise I would have said something else.

EA750w seems overkill, but might just be the best value given your selection and pricing.
560Ti is a not so great value. I'd bump to 560Ti 448, but really, wait 1-4 weeks for the new cards coming.

Looks fine. I'd take a look at case list in OP and see if you find anything you like.

[Barrow Roll]

Yeah I should have mentioned that, my bad.

A lot of the stuff we picked (if not all) is part of their Leap Year sale right now and also have mail in rebates if that makes any difference.

Thanks a lot for the input though. Do you think this thing will be able to run Dolphin well?

[Hazaro]

Yeah I should have mentioned that, my bad. A lot of the stuff we picked (if not all) is part of their Leap Year sale right now and also have mail in rebates if that makes any difference. Thanks a lot for the input though. Do you think this thing will be able to run Dolphin well?

Whoops. Yeah, that's a given. Make sure to overclock it to a nice 4.2Ghz at least. There's a guide in the OP and benching thread, although the voltages it suggests are a bit lower than what most people use. Even at stock it will do very well.

If all those parts are on sale.... I'd still hold off on the GPU. We should be seeing a real nice bump. You can nab everything but that though.

[lionelhutz]

Has anyone used this monitor? The price seems pretty good too.

http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/p...n&sku=320-2807

It would be connected to a laptop for work. I like the idea of having HDMI in the rare event I connected a console, but I don't want to pay another $300 for it and I really don't anticipate much gaming on it.

[Khorino]

I would suggest to get a 128GB SSD for OS and frequent used programs/games, it makes a world of difference.

I would, but for now there's no money. Maybe later!

[Federico_612]

Hello PC-gaf, lurking here last year helped me make my high end PC, and i am thankful for that. However i have a friend who needs some help He has an Asrock 775dual-VSTA, with an Intel pentium 4 641 Processor, and a 400watt PSU and was using an HD RADEON 4650, and he bought an PNY 9800 GT Energy Efficient, however this card doesn't show anything when installed. Could any of You PC-Gaffers Lend me a hand on what might be wrong? My curent guesses are that the PCIE 1.0 Rail doesn't provide enough power for the GPU.

Reposted so that someone may PLEASE RESPOND

(sorry for my bad English grammar)

[Hazaro]

Reposted so that someone may PLEASE RESPOND (sorry for my bad English grammar)

I think all Gens of PCI-E can supply a max of 75W.

Now, if there's an old mother board and that old PSU is not specced for 12V there might be issues there.

Make sure BIOS is set to PCIE graphics
PSU may be 3.3 or 5V spec instead of 12V
Mobo might just be old and can't deliver all that power cleanly over just PCI-E

[Federico_612]

I think all Gens of PCI-E can supply a max of 75W. Now, if there's an old mother board and that old PSU is not specced for 12V there might be issues there. Make sure BIOS is set to PCIE graphics PSU may be 3.3 or 5V spec instead of 12V Mobo might just be old and can't deliver all that power cleanly over just PCI-E

I dont know about the PSU Vs, however, he was already using an HD 4650, so his bios was already set

Thanks for awnsering

[Dural666]

I'm considering building a new PC this spring or summer, and I will play on a Full-HD Plasma. Which Graphic Card from AMD would you guys recommend me?

[Hazaro]

I dont know about the PSU Vs, however, he was already using an HD 4650, so his bios was already set Thanks for awnsering

That seems odd to me. The power jump for that is extremely negligible.

I'd replug all power connectors and reseat the card and see if that helps.
If you can test the 9800GT EE in another system that would be the best bet. Otherwise I'd guess it was an issue with the card.

I'm considering building a new PC this spring or summer, and I will play on a Full-HD Plasma. Which Graphic Card from AMD would you guys recommend me?

Please take a look through the OP and fill out what you can.

[Federico_612]

I'm considering building a new PC this spring or summer, and I will play on a Full-HD Plasma. Which Graphic Card from AMD would you guys recommend me?

An 6870- 6950 would suit you well.
You could wait for the 78xx series

[irishcow]

Just set up my new SSD with a fresh install of Win 7. I'm not seeing much difference from before to be honest. Is the speed subtle? My pc is fast to begin with and set up really nice.

I mean windows starts faster and games like BF3 and MW3 load faster, but is this it? Windows seems just as fast as before.

I ran some benchmarks and its running as fast as it should.

Is there anything special I need to do? I updated the drive firmware already.

Where are you all seeing the biggest benefit from having an SSD?

PC Specs:

i5 2500k at 4.5ghz
8gb ram
Previous windows HD Samsung Spinpoint f3 1tb

[Dural666]

Please take a look through the OP and fill out what you can.

Ah sorry, my bad.
So I want to play in 1080p. The game mostly want to play in good condition is Witcher 2. I'm interested on PS2/Wii emulation as well. I haven't decided on CPU or RAM for now. And I don't plan to overclock.

[jarosh]

hey guys, it's been a while since i posted in here. i was wondering if, before i completely take my system apart again, you guys have some final advice. i've gotten some great help in here before.

i've been struggling with my computer doing cold re-boots out of nowhere for a long time now. i thought i'd fixed the problem, but it came back a few weeks ago.

here's the original post from the 2011 thread:

guys... i need your help. i'm having a weird problem with my gaming pc that i built a couple of months ago: http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost...postcount=5260 specs: CASE: Silverstone HTPC GD05 Black CPU: i5 2500k CPU COOLER: Scythe Big Shuriken MOBO: Asus P8P67-M PRO (B3) SSD: Intel SSD 510 Series 120GB HDD: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB OPTICAL: Asus DRW-24B3LT RAM: Kingston HyperX, 8 GB (2x4GB), DDR3-1600 PSU: Seasonic X-560 GPU: GTX-260, 896 MB all of a sudden, while watching a dvd on it yesterday, the system crashed and restarted. there was no blue screen and no memory dump. once it was booting up again, it initially only got to the windows logo, then crashed again and restarted. i was asked to do a repair/system restore, which i did. the computer then booted up fine again. windows did not report any errors or problems once i was logged on, there were no mini dump files or anything. it was like it never happened. but half an hour later the same thing happened again, while the computer was just idling, with nothing open. and this has been happening ever since. sometimes after 10 minutes, sometimes after 1 hour. but i haven't been playing any games or doing anything but browsing or watching dvds on it for at least 2 weeks. often the crashes happen when the system is idling. the machine is just resetting out of nowhere and then rebooting for no obvious reason. and once it's back up, there is no indication of it ever happening, no memory dumps, no error reports, nothing. basically, the computer is useless in this state. a few important things to note: - temperatures of all my components are very low at the time of the "crashes", everything is idling, no overheating - ran an extensive mem check: ram is ok - have updated gpu drivers (they were only a few weeks old), didn't change anything - again, there are no memory dumps and no blue screens - i have no viruses or spyware (already checked extensively) - there are very few things installed on this machine (steam, buncha games, browser, mse) and i've never had a single problem or crash with it before this, it is blazingly fast and clean apart from this issue could it be the power supply? i honestly don't know what else it could be at this point. it's a frickin' GOOD psu though and the last part i would have excpected to fail on me. or is it possible that a faulty gpu could cause a crash that DOESN'T produce a blue screen and memory dump? i've personally never experienced that. i've never had a faulty cpu before, so no idea how that would present itself...

i hadn't been able to resolve the issue after making that post. i left my system alone for a few months because i was getting frustrated with the situation. then i decided to switch out the ram. and at first everything seemed to run fine again. i played through deus ex: hr without a single issue.

then, all of a sudden it started happening again. after i had used the machine for over a month again, after i had occasionally even left it running all day without a single problem, the re-boots suddenly started again.

i'm totally lost here. i have no idea what component could work for hours, for weeks, even months at a time and then suddenly cause the computer to do cold re-boots constantly. it's strange how this gets better again if i leave the machine alone for a few days or weeks. it's happened several times now where it seemed like the pc had "recovered" after i left it alone for a while and then after using it again for a few weeks the problem would suddenly come back in full force.

i'm ready to start replacing other parts, although i will have to buy them probably, as i have nothing else lying around. and while everything is still under warranty, i doubt i can just send back random parts saying that they don't work without knowing for sure.

any idea where to go from here?

[claviertekky]

Could be a bad motherboard.

Test your RAM using "Windows Memory Diagnostic." (Launch from start menu or installation DVD).

[jarosh]

Could be a bad motherboard. Test your RAM using "Windows Memory Diagnostic." (Launch from start menu or installation DVD).

ram has been tested extensively with memtest. and as i've mentioned, i even replaced it despite there being no errors. problem's still there.

[claviertekky]

ram has been tested extensively with memtest. and as i've mentioned, i even replaced it despite there being no errors. problem's still there.

RMA the motherboard.

Could also be a bad SSD.

Do you have a traditional SATA drive lying around?

[mkenyon]

Here is my build log for one of my teammates. Goal is to get a system that can hit 120fps steady in T:A for use with a 120hz monitor. It also serves the purpose of a decent guide on how to build a modern rig, taking into account things that are often passed up by amateurs. Need to get better lighting for photos, but it gets the job done right now. Original article posted here, but I thought I would post it on GAF as well for great benefit.

Tribes: Ascend 120 FPS Build Log



In this part of the guide, we’ll go step by step on how to assemble your new computer. Many people know how to put parts together and have it post, but may lack some of the more subtle knowledge of how to optimize the build and maximize performance. A combination of wire management, cooling configuration, and component properties need to be considered. With a host of new parts arriving on your doorstep, the immediate reaction is to start putting them together, with little thought given to the plan of attack. Taking an extra few hours to think about how it all works together is time well spent.



The first thing I do is figure out my plan of attack for how I want the cooling arranged. Most cases are designed to have cool air come in through the front bottom of the case and exhaust out of the rear and top. The inclusion of the H40 cooler as well as a non-reference video card throws a bit of a wrench in this basic philosophy.



For one, its best to have the radiator on the H40 as an intake, that way cool air is being pulled over it. Additionally, the open air design cooler on the Twin Frozr II 560Ti does not exhaust hot air out of the back of the case. This means that the rear of the case is actually a pretty decent place to pull air in from. With both the front and rear of the case as intakes, we still want to work with the laws of thermodynamics, so the top will be the place to exhaust all of the hot air.



From here, we have our first build issue. With the H40 radiator placed on the back, there isn’t enough clearance with the top 120mm fan. This is most likely due to spacing issues.



Instead, I will use a half height fan in place of the standard 120mm fan on the top. This will give plenty of room for the radiator while still providing good exhaust CFM. One thing you will always want to do is install the fans to where the wires are near the motherboard tray. This keeps them hidden from view and out of airflow.

With the airflow planned out for the build, I can start assembling. Getting the motherboard ready and in place is the best place to start.



First install the RAM in the slots recommended by your motherboard’s manual. Then install the CPU. For people with older cases or new cases with older designs, this is also a great time to install the CPU heatsink. However, Corsair cases have a very large cutout on the motherboard tray for installing the heatsinks once the motherboard is mounted. This makes the heatsink installation a lot easier so you don’t have to worry about handling the motherboard in awkward positions.



One of the features I absolutely love about the Corsair 300R is that all of the motherboard standoffs are basically bumps that the motherboard rests directly on. In addition to that, the center standoff is actually just a pin that sticks out and holds your motherboard in place. This makes the battle between I/O shield and correct motherboard placement a complete breeze.





With the motherboard installed, we move on to the HX650 PSU and H40 heatsink. Before installing the radiator in the case, the CPU 8 pin power needs to be plugged in, as the radiator will make it nearly impossible.



A great aspect of the HX650 is that it is modular, meaning you only need to plug in the cables that you need. This rig will only need a single 4 pin molex cable for fans, one SATA power cable for the Force 90 SSD, and one PCI-E 6+2 pin for the Twin Frozr II 560 Ti.



Next up is the installation of the Force 90 SSD. Really, you can mount these anywhere but the tooless HDD bays make easy access to the power and data ports on the back of the SSD.



With all of the major components now in place, the only thing left to do is simply plug everything in. It’s as simple as making sure that every part of the computer that needs power or data gets a corresponding cable. Here is a quick checklist to make sure everything is in order:

1) Motherboard 24 pin power
2) CPU 8 pin power
3) SATA Power
4) SATA Data
4) Water cooling pump molex power
5) All fans – either straight power or into the motherboard fan headers
6) Front panel connectors – USB 2.0, USB 3.0, Power/Reset/HDD LED
7) Video card 6+2 pin PCI-E power – I leave this near the cutout and always install the video card last.



With everything plugged in, now it’s time to make sure those cables stay out of airflow. For a more in-depth tutorial, be sure to check out the Cable Management Guide. Basically, take all the slack in the cables and zip-tie them to the back of the motherboard tray. This is a really important step, as it helps with airflow/temps and reduces the surface area dust can collect on keeping everything cleaner. Plus it looks great.



Now simply install the video card, and you are ready to boot.



-zfz.Michalius

[mkenyon]

Cable Management Guide

One of the most most important parts of custom building computers is proper cable management. There’s a lot of people who are able to build their custom PC’s, but put little effort into the process. Maybe it’s excitement of having all your new parts, maybe it’s just not caring as it serves as a simple tool to game on.

Outside of the aesthetic benefits there are some very important reasons to strive for good cable management. For one, it improves airflow in the case, as the fans are unobstructed by clutter. This reduces temperatures inside the case which impacts the longevity of your components, and allows for more parts or increased overclocking potential. Another reason is that is also reduces the amount of dust that can collect in the case, as the surface area is significantly reduced. This allows for better temperatures as well, but also increases the lifespan on your moving parts such as fans. Finally, it makes gaining access to components or switching out parts like a video card a total breeze.

An important factor in proper cable management is the case and whether or not it promotes cable management as one of its features. Fractal Design and Corsair have really pushed this concept forward in recent years. The cases generally feature cutouts near the power supply and motherboard tray that allows you to route the cables behind and out of sight. Corsair goes a step further and includes a large amount of room behind the motherboard tray to make it even easier to route the cables.

This guide will focus specifically on the Arc Mini, as the cable management is fairly similar to most modern cases. Before you begin, you need the three tools that make proper management possible:

-A pair of small snips, which you can find at a local hobby shop.
-Masking tape.
-Zip ties, assorted sizes, which you can find at a home improvement store or your local computer store.



As you can see, there are a few cutouts along the motherboard tray with rubber grommets to pass through cables. This is one of the most basic features that should be included in your case decision.



The infamous PSU squid is alive and well here. These are uni-sleeved cables, which add extra clutter compared to most stock PSU cables. The fact that this is a mATX case adds further difficulties, as there is very little room to work with. The more I have these out of the way, the cooler the components will stay from a steady airflow.

The first cable that should be routed is the CPU/EPS 8 pin power plug. This is generally located in the upper left hand corner of the motherboard. You want to do this before installing any radiators or CPU heatsinks, as they’ll make it nearly impossible to plug it in.





Next, I prefer to route the front I/O panel wires. There are generally little nooks and crannies that you can put these through to keep them interfering with the component cables. Cutouts near the PSU can often be used for this purpose.



Now it’s time to put the power cables through the back panel. The PSU cables go through the cutout near the PSU. Fan cables should be routed through any available opening nearest the fan.



From here, it’s as simple as finding the nearest cutout to where the plugs go. The 24 pin ATX power cable is routed through the middle, while the two PCI-E power cables are routed through the bottom hole. This way, the cable stays near the HDD cage instead of above it to avoid disrupting airflow to the video card.



We have quite the mess on our hands now. This is where the zip ties and masking tape come in hand. Every situation will be different here, so you’ll have to use your own discretion. The basic principle though is to spread out the cables as much as possible, preventing any one area from having a mass of cables. If they stack up too much, you won’t be able to put your back panel on.



With the majority of cables now secured, I continue on with the fan, molex, and SATA power cables.



One of the things I love about Fractal –and many modern– cases is that the HDD cages are mounted in a way that the power and data cables are plugged in on the back panel. This allows you to again keep the cables out of sight.



Now secure the rest of the power cables in any spaces available, keeping with the same principle of spreading them out as much as possible. Though still fairly unsightly, the cables are now secured enough to allow the back panel to close.



Though the back is unsightly, we have a much better interior.



Here the cables are almost entirely hidden with only what is necessary visible. In addition, they’re almost completely out of the way of any airflow. This will keep everything cool and clean for a long while. Though many upgrades can cost hundreds of dollars, this is one that will only cost you a few hours of your time.

-zfz.Michalius

[mkenyon]

While I'm at it, thoughts on the Corsair 300R:

Avoid it. All sorts of questionable build quality aspects, like one use only metal washers that are lightly glued to jagged cutouts in the top mesh for fans. Any of the 120mm closed loop water systems can't be mounted while using a normal 25mm thick fan in the rear top exhaust. Despite having offset mounting spots for the 120mm in the top, you can't even put in an H100. Very sloppy work there. Am disappoint Corsair. CM690II is around the same price, and better in every measurable way. If you want something more compact than the 690II, get a Fractal Arc Mini.

[jarosh]

RMA the motherboard. Could also be a bad SSD. Do you have a traditional SATA drive lying around?

i hadn't even considered the ssd. good point. it's worth a try. should i make an image and keep the same os install on the new hdd? or not a good idea?

[dehydratedbabies]

I didn't realize that the two TY-140s I ordered for the top of my case only have 120mm holes. The top of the K58W only has 140mm holes (ignore the arrows, I stole the image from someone else):



I ordered one of these 140mm to 120mm fan mounts, but I'm pretty sure they won't fit inside the top of my case (the 26.5mm wide wide TY-140s barely fit themselves). When they arrive I'm going to try putting the mounts inside the case and then attaching the fans from above. If that doesn't work I'll have to just replace the stock front/rear fans that came with the case with these TY-140s and then order two more 140mm fans that actually have 140mm holes.

[scogoth]

I didn't realize that the two TY-140s I ordered for the top of my case only have 120mm holes. The top of the K58W only has 140mm holes (ignore the arrows, I stole the image from someone else): I ordered one of these 140mm to 120mm fan mounts, but I'm pretty sure they won't fit inside the top of my case (the 26.5mm wide wide TY-140s barely fit themselves). When they arrive I'm going to try putting the mounts inside the case and then attaching the fans from above. If that doesn't work I'll have to just replace the stock front/rear fans that came with the case with these TY-140s and then order two more 140mm fans that actually have 140mm holes.

Noctua has little metal extensions to adapt the 120mm mounts to 140mm mounts but Im not sure you can buy them separate from their 140mm fan.

[BoobPhysics101]

Cable Management Guide

Awesome guide. Should be in the OP.

[Shambles]

Awesome guide. Should be in the OP.

Jesus, don't quote the whole bloody thing please.

[dehydratedbabies]

Noctua has little metal extensions to adapt the 120mm mounts to 140mm mounts but Im not sure you can buy them separate from their 140mm fan.

I saw that, but I can't find them for sale separately. The closest thing I've been able to find is this Koolance adapter:



But after shipping two of them would cost almost $30... -_-

EDIT: I just sent Noctua a message, maybe they'll let me order some from them.

[BoobPhysics101]

Jesus, don't quote the whole bloody thing please.

Shut your mouth or I'll quote it twice.

edit: I forgot to add the ':P' so it wouldn't sound so serious...

[Grayman]

Here is my build log for one of my teammates. Goal is to get a system that can hit 120fps steady in T:A for use with a 120hz monitor. It also serves the purpose of a decent guide on how to build a modern rig, taking into account things that are often passed up by amateurs. Need to get better lighting for photos, but it gets the job done right now. Original article posted here, but I thought I would post it on GAF as well for great benefit. snip -zfz.Michalius

Looks like a great cabling guide to follow.

Did the 560ti meet his tribes needs? I just got a 120hz monitor this week and was expecting to have to go a lot beefier on my next PC to hit 120 in anything but quake and counter strike.

[Rufus]

Shut your mouth or I'll quote it twice.

Don't be a dick, it's obnoxious to quote a pic-heavy post.

[BoobPhysics101]

Looks like a great cabling guide to follow. Did the 560ti meet his tribes needs? I just got a 120hz monitor this week and was expecting to have to go a lot beefier on my next PC to hit 120 in anything but quake and counter strike.

Tribes runs at way over 100 FPS maxed out. It's very optimized and efficient (that's UE3 for you).

[Grayman]

Tribes runs at way over 100 FPS maxed out. It's very optimized and efficient (that's UE3 for you).

I am on a 3.3ghz dual core and 260ti so I am not even hitting 60 on min. I didn't realize new hardware had dusted me by that much yet.

[BoobPhysics101]

I am on a 3.3ghz dual core and 260ti so I am not even hitting 60 on min. I didn't realize new hardware had dusted me by that much yet.

Unreal Engine is traditionally CPU limited so an OC'd 2500k/2600k with a fast GPU can push out some ridiculous FPS in something like Tribes, UT3, etc.

[KillerAJD]

Sorry for the hit and run, but can anybody check on this to make sure it's a decent build? I'm building a PC for a friend, and they have around $1k to spend. I'd like to use Amazon if possible for the Prime shipping (and I live in California, so no taxes), and I'd like to get it all together by the end of next week. I could probably scout for better prices on other sites, but then I run the risk of paying out the ass for shipping, etc.. We're planning on ordering this stuff within the hour, so any changes would need to be made quickly.

Antec 300 Case WD 500GB drive OCZ 600w power supply MSI Motherboard Corsair 8GB 1600 DDR3 ram Viewsonic 22" monitor I5 2500k EVGA 560 ti 2GB

Now this doesn't include the mouse, keyboard, dvd drive, windows, etc. that push it over $1000, so if there's anyways I can save money (and possibly add nothing more than $5-10), I'm all ears.

[BoobPhysics101]

Sorry for the hit and run, but can anybody check on this to make sure it's a decent build? I'm building a PC for a friend, and they have around $1k to spend. I'd like to use Amazon if possible for the Prime shipping (and I live in California, so no taxes), and I'd like to get it all together by the end of next week. I could probably scout for better prices on other sites, but then I run the risk of paying out the ass for shipping, etc.. We're planning on ordering this stuff within the hour, so any changes would need to be made quickly. Now this doesn't include the mouse, keyboard, dvd drive, windows, etc. that push it over $1000, so if there's anyways I can save money (and possibly add nothing more than $5-10), I'm all ears.

The Antec 300 is a weak case. I chose a HAF 912 over it after comparing them both in store.

I'd get this mobo over the MSI: http://www.amazon.com/ASUS-LGA-1155-...0816397&sr=1-2 (or this one: http://www.amazon.com/ASUS-P8Z68-V-L...0816397&sr=1-5)

This RAM is far better than the stuff you picked (costs $3 less too): http://www.amazon.com/Corsair-Vengea...0816457&sr=1-1

About the 560 Ti 2 GB: For $280, that's a rip-off. I highly recommend waiting a week or two for the Radeon 7870 2 GB to come out. It should be priced a bit higher but offer much better performance.

[KillerAJD]

The Antec 300 is a weak case. I chose a HAF 912 over it after comparing them both in store. I'd get this mobo over the MSI: http://www.amazon.com/ASUS-LGA-1155-...0816397&sr=1-2 (or this one: http://www.amazon.com/ASUS-P8Z68-V-L...0816397&sr=1-5) This RAM is far better than the stuff you picked (costs $3 less too): http://www.amazon.com/Corsair-Vengea...0816457&sr=1-1 About the 560 Ti 2 GB: For $280, that's a rip-off. I highly recommend waiting a week or two for the Radeon 7870 2 GB to come out. It should be priced a bit higher but offer much better performance.

Will do on the ram and motherboard, and as far as the case goes, I have the 300 and I'm perfectly fine with it. I had another case picked out, but amazon just ran out of stock on it, haha. And for the 560, what would be a better price on that? I know we're on the cusp of new cheaper cards, but he really wants this thing by the end of next week. I can try talking him into waiting a week for the gpu, but if I can't what would be the best deal at the moment? I could save 40 bucks and get the 1gb version, but I'd like it to be at least future proof for the next few years.

*Just looked up the HAF and for the same price it looks better built, so I'll probably go with that then, thanks! Plus, it's actually Prime eligible!

[BoobPhysics101]

Will do on the ram and motherboard, and as far as the case goes, I have the 300 and I'm perfectly fine with it. I had another case picked out, but amazon just ran out of stock on it, haha. And for the 560, what would be a better price on that? I know we're on the cusp of new cheaper cards, but he really wants this thing by the end of next week. I can try talking him into waiting a week for the gpu, but if I can't what would be the best deal at the moment? I could save 40 bucks and get the 1gb version, but I'd like it to be at least future proof for the next few years. *Just looked up the HAF and for the same price it looks better built, so I'll probably go with that then, thanks! Plus, it's actually Prime eligible!

For $100 less, I'd go with this bad-boy:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814150563

It's about as fast, 2 GB of RAM, but much less expensive.