[Hazaro]

Visit our friends at Laptop-GAF and TechSupportGAF
Overclock (Guides) and Benchmark your new or old PC at the Race your PC Thread
Accessories: Mechanical Keyboard |OT| / Mech KB Talk
Use Ctrl+F or your search function to help find what you are looking for


by Rosti

This OP is a constant work in progress.
- If you have something to add or critique, PM me


09/10/2012: Updated Build Sheet: http://bit.ly/Q4_2012_Haz - HDDs are in a really bad spot right now. Especially 2TB options. Nothing is a good value and everything has issues. BACKUP YOUR DATA AND RUN SCANS WHEN YOU GET ONE.
08/24/2012: Inside the Second (A look at CPU performance in gaming) - TechReport
08/04/2012: Two useful cooling articles: Case Fan Temps and Positioning - (Bit-Tech), 60 Fans Tested (Vortez)
07/15/2012: July Update. Not a lot of changes.
05/24/2012: GTX670 update. As usual you can view the image or click my link: http://bit.ly/Q2_2012_Haz.
03/28/2012: Intel Ivy Bridge i5 and i7 models to be launching. See the Ivy Bridge Thread for reviews and information. tl;dr ~5% faster, slightly less power.
01/07/2012: RPS 2012 PC Games List - An exciting list of PC games due in 2012
10/12/2011: AMD AM3+ Bulldozer Reviews are up (FX-8150) I will not be recommending any AMD Bulldozer CPUs in my builds as of now.
09/09/2011: Inside the second: A new look at game benchmarking Why FPS isn't everything, and multi GPU still has issues.


If you want help with a build fill this out AND try making one of your own from the resources in the OP :)

Use PCPartPicker to find the best prices and have a nice list of parts. I highly recommend Amazon and Newegg and NCIX in North America.
Basic Desktop Questions:

• Your Current Specs: CPU / RAM (DDR2/DDR3) / Motherboard / GPU / PSU
• Budget: Price Range + Country
• Main Use: Light Gaming, Gaming, Emulation (PS2/Wii), Video Editing, HD Streaming, 3D work, General Usage (Word, Web, 1080p playback). Rate importance on a 1-5 scale. (5 Being highest)
• Monitor Resolution: What resolution will you be playing your games at? Are you going to upgrade later? Are you buying a new monitor?
• List SPECIFIC games that you MUST be able to play: Self Explanatory.
• Looking to reuse any parts?: List make and model (e.g. Corsair 520HX 520W)
• When will you build?: What time frames are doable? Are you building this weekend? Do you need it in a week or so? Can you wait a month or two?
• Will you be overclocking?: Yes, No, Maybe (This means yes)
  

General guides:
FALCON GUIDE – This is a general UPDATED guide with lots of price segments and a ton of good information at the bottom. Lite version
Tech Report Summer 2012 system guide - Updated once a season, I generally agree with everything on these lists.
Best overall i5/i7 2500K/2600K P67/Z68 overclocking guide (clunk.org)

Picking your parts
CPU and GPU Benchmarks: http://www.anandtech.com/bench/GPU12/ Select CPU or GPU and view single products, or compare them.
A great resource. Note the speed benchmarks are run at, and some games and tasks work better on one setup versus another. e.g. Video editing (multi core), RTS (core speed), Games (AMD/nVidia optimizations)

Picking the type of graphics: With so many types, brands, and coolers what should you go with? - Video Card TYPE Guide by mkenyon(ZFZ)

Intro to dual cards: SLI & Crossfire
In my opinion I'd only suggest dual cards from a performance a high end perspective. If you are willing to plunk down $600+ for GPU alone you go two cards.

How much power do I need?
For lower end systems, even with a GTX 460 or HD6850, a good PSU that can deliver 380W on the 12V is enough. For higher end systems a 500 or 550W is reccommended.
Above that tier are 750W systems for dual card capability or fastest single card, then a high end 850W or a 1000W for more graphics.

Prospective laptop buyers please fill this out.
What laptop should i buy? Laptop-GAF


Hazaro's PC Builds: http://bit.ly/Q4_2012_Haz



Choosing a case: Picking a case reflects what you are looking for, and your personal tastes. Note that some cases might not be able to fit taller rifle coolers (Like the CM 212 Plus, or more commonly a ThermalRight Silver Arrow) or longer video cards (Like a 6950 or GTX 580). Additionally some of the LED fans in cases can have off switches.
Thank your friendly neighborhood feist and TheExodu5. Updated 04/26/12


$40-60 $70-$100 $120-$200

$40 - BitFenix Merc Alpha/Beta ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, $80 - Cooler Master CM 690 II Advanced ,,,,,, $130 - Cooler Master HAF XM/Corsair 500R/SilverStone RV02 (RV03/FT02)

$40 - NZXT Source 210/210 Elite/220 ,,,,,,,, $100 - Fractal Design Arc/Lian Li PC-K63 ,,,,,,, $150 - BitFenix Shinobi XL/NZXT Switch 810/Corsair 600T

$45 - Diablotek Evo/Rosewill Challenger ,,,, $100 - Antec Eleven Hundred/Corsair 400R ,,,, $180 - Cooler Master HAF X/CM Storm Trooper/Xigmatek Elysium

$60 - Cooler Master HAF 912/922 ,,,,,,,,,,,,,, $100 - SilverStone KL04/TJ04-E ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, $ 200 - Lian Li PC-V700/PC-V750/Various Lian Li (~$100-200+)

[QUIET OPTIONS] $60 - BitFenix Shinobi ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, $100 - Fractal Design Define R3/Define XL ,,,, $120 - Anidées AI-6B/Antec P280

Putting it all together
Thermal Paste: Apply as a ~4mm ball to the CPU. Press the heatsink down and tighten. Line method is ok. If you take the heatsink off, clean it with alcohol and reapply or you will trap air.
Video How-to: 15 minute video how-to / 40 Minute how-to / Tested March 15th $1,500 build (100 minutes, but entertaining) / How to Build a Gaming Computer (Carey Holzman - 120 minutes) / Newegg - 40 minutes / TimeToLive Build (75 minutes)
mkenyon(ZFZ) - Build Guide & Cable Management Guide

Suggested Accessories: Monitors, Keyboards, Mice, Microphones, Headphones and Speakers
Under construction
Monitor: 20", 22", 24", Gaming and IPS
Mouse: Choosing a gaming mouse
Keyboards: $20, $40, $60, 2x Mechs, G15 style. Mechanical Keyboard Thread / OT Mech KB Thread
Headphones/Headset: $20 $40 $80 $120 + Headphone GAF link
Mic: Zalman Clip on Mic ($8) and Logitech USB Microphone ($22)

Help! PC won't Turn on/POST/Boot
Under construction



Newegg (Parts)
Amazon (Parts)
NCIXUS (Parts)
Chief Value (Parts)
Micro Center (Parts)
Performance-PCs (Parts)
Tiger Direct (Parts, Bing Cashback)
Mwave (Parts)
AVADirect (Custom Built)
Falcon Northwest (Custom Built)
MAINGEAR (Custom Built)



NCIX (Parts, Assembly, Price Match)
Amazon (Parts)
Canada Computers (Parts)
DirectCanada (Parts)
Memory Express (Parts, Assembly, Price Match)
Newegg (Parts)
Tiger Direct (Parts)
PriceBat (Price Comparison)
PriceCanada (Price Comparison)
Shopbot (Price Comparison)



Novatech (Parts)
Overclockers UK (Parts)
Aria PC (Parts)
Ebuyer (Parts, Custom Built)
Microdirect (Parts)
HardwareVersand (Parts)
Misco (Parts)
Scan (Parts)
Dino PC (Custom Built)
YoYoTech (Custom Built)



PC Case Gear (Parts)
Scorpion Technology (Parts)
MSY (Parts)
Umart (Parts)
staticICE (Product Finder)


(And reviews)
AnandTech
The Tech Report
Guru3D
HardOCP
Hardware Canucks
Overclockers
Tom's Hardware
X-bit labs
+Jonnyguru - LEGIT PSU reviews
+HardwareSecrets - LEGIT PSU reviews
+Silent PC Review - Silent Computing


Steam Mover / Steam Tool for SSDs
Ninite A batch downloader and installer for popular programs. A fantastic time saver for any new PC build.

_____
CPU-Z gathers information on your Motherboard, BIOS, CPU, FSB, VCORE voltage and memory timings.
GPU-Z gathers information (Speed, architecture, temps) on your video card and GPU.
Real Temp / Core Temp allows you to monitor the temperature of your CPU core(s).
HWMonitor allows you to monitor fan speed, temperature, voltage, etc.
Piriform Speccy overall computer hardware monitoring
ATTO / CrystalDiskMark Tests read and write speed of your hard drives.
MSI Afterburner (aka RivaTuner) allows you to manage GPU overclocking, fan speed/profiles and chart many aspects of your GPU.

FURMark allows you to stress test your video card.
Fraps allows you to record real time video, take screen captures and display your FPS.
Memtest86+ allows you to run a full memory scan to deal with the blue screen of death and system errors.
MemtestG80 allows you to test for soft errors in GPU memory for NVIDIA CUDA-enabled GPUs.
nHancer/Radeon Pro allows you to optimize the display, improve the performance and fully utilize your NVIDIA graphics card.
OCCT / Prime95 allows you to stress test your CPU and GPU. allows you to stress test the stability of your computer.
Dxtory/nVidia driver options allows you to limit the frame rate on most games. Excellent for older games or just getting a locked 45FPS




SSD Setup and Tweaking
Online Security Thread
2011 High-res PC screenshot thread + 2012
Triple buffering: "Why we love it"
PC games blog list

2008 Thread
2009 Thread
2010 Thread
2011 Thread Part 1 + Part 2
2012 Thread Part 1 + Part 2

[Hazaro]

MedIC86's Advanced Information Guide - Ctrl + F is your friend.



Current mainstream sockets:
Intel: LGA1155/2011
AMD: AM3/AM3+

Overclocking:

Is it safe? Mostly. Computer parts are pretty damn durable and there are a ton of safeguards in place to auto throttle down a CPU, increase fan speed, and even shut down before any harm happens.
How hot is too hot? In general it is wanted to keep temperatures under 65C using a CPU load program (Like in the OP, Prime95). A little over is fine. Idle temperatures are not that important and are often reported inaccurately. Temperature variation across cores is normal.
My CPU is not fast as others It happens. Every person is not going to get 4.8Ghz out of an i5 2500K. 1.3V and 4.4Ghz is a good benchmark for many though.

In general, the most resources you want are found by simply using Google. 'Processor + Motherboard' will give you a lot of good results. 'How to overclock (processor)' as well.

A popular 2500K (P67) guide is clunk's, here: http://www.clunk.org.uk/forums/overc...beginners.html



Motherboards:

- Socket Type (Which processors will work with your motherboard. Make sure it matches or is compatible with the CPU you are buying.)
- Chipset (Different chipsets (H67,P67,Z68,770,880,990) determine what possible connections and extras motherboards can support. In general the performance gains are not noticible and it is used mainly to tell how many PCI-E lanes a motherboard can support)
- Memory (Does it use DDR2 or DDR3? 1.5V or 1.65V? Most use 1.5V DDR3 today)
- Expansion slots (How many expansion slots do you need? PCI-E x16? PCI? Do you want two GPU's and a wireless PCI-E card? A PCI sound card?)
- Connectors/features (Do you need HDMI out? USB 3.0 ports? On board digital out?)
- Formfactor (Your case will have room for a certain formfactor of motherboard (ATX[normal], mATX[small]. Some cases only fit mATX and are labeled as such)
- Compatibility (On rare occasions there are incompatibilities between certain cards and memory with motherboards)
- Brand (Most brands on the market today are solid. Newegg reviews are generally helpful to determine a DOA rate. MSI, ASUS, ASRock, and Gigabyte in no particular order are some of the most known.)
- Quality (You pay more for more features. Higher end boards will also have more power regulations, use less power, and keep voltage in check more than cheaper boards)
- Overclock-ability (Usually nearly equal across the board. If you want a slightly higher overclock, you can pay more for a motherboard with better power regulation)
- Price (Always try to find the best bang for your buck, don't buy a mobo with features that you will never use!)

So in short, when buying a motherboard try to follow these points:
1. Determine the platform (Chipset + Socket)
2. Determine what functions you deem necessary for the motherboard to have
3. Make a shortlist of all motherboards that have your demands
4. Pick the board that has good reviews and has the best price



Speed and latency for RAM (e.g. 1333 9-9-9-24 vs 1666 8-8-8-24) is not a big deal. In many cases it is just 1-4% difference. 1333Mhz DDR3 is perfectly fine for most. Save your money unless a sale is on, our you want to buy neat looking RAM. Just make sure the tall RAM heatsinks don't block your CPU heatsink!
4GB is enough for gaming. 8GB if you do a lot of multitasking or video work.
DDR3 prices are currently quite low and shouldn't drop much farther.

CAS vs. SPEED
DDR2 & DDR3
Memory Overclocking



When you are in the market for a new GPU follow the same rules as with the motherboard. Determine your budget, features that you need etc.**CHECK REVIEWS FROM OP SITES!**

Question: There are many different brands in videocards, do they differ?
Answer: Most cards are very similar. Brands are there for warranty and support. Sometimes a brand will use a custom cooler.
If the card uses the reference PCB, there is **NO** difference per brand, its the same card they just slap a different sticker on it.
But if you have a pre-factory overclocked card or they are using another cooler then the reference design there might be a difference, check hardware review sites for these GPU's.


Imaging your old HDD to your SSD
Some SSD Setup and Tweak guides in this post
Crucial Firmware
Samsung Support

SSD is a abbreviation for 'Solid State Drive': a 'drive' with no mechanical parts, but with a conventional disk-interface (usually SATA).
An ssd contains memory chips (flash memory) to store the data.
The biggest advantage is data is almost immediately available, without the need of moving a mechanical head to the area on the hard drive where the desired data is stored.
At this moment pc-components such as the processor, memory (ram), graphics processor and other components, perform well enough to meet the demand of the most users. Still we have to wait while using a computer...
So where can performance still be increased dramatically? The answer: SSD's!

Terminology:

- Garbage collection: part of the functionality of the firmware of ssd's that automatically merges fairly unused memory blocks for better performance
- Under-partitioning: leave blank space for better performance
- Wiping: OCZ method (tool) to improve performance
- Aligning: creating a partition with a size that is exactly the cluster size multiplied by a factor
- TRIM: a ATA (contoller) command from the operating system to an ssd, that can tell that a memory block on the ssd can be erased to improve write performance - It's a feature of Windows 7 but keep in mind that your SSD must support it!
- Wear leveling: spreading write-actions on memory cells evenly over the whole ssd - this prevents wear of the flash cells increasing their lifetime
- MLC / SLC: Multi Level Cell or Single Level Cell - the latter lasts longer, is theoretically faster but more expensive, so mlc-based ssd's are now sold more, especially to consumers.

Tips for SSD's on a Windows based system:

- Firmware: YES (check if there is new firmware out and if so install it, usually gets speed increases)
- Partition alignment: YES (Windows Vista (SP1 and later) and Windows 7 always create aligned partitions.)
- Defragmentation: NO (it's important that you turn off automatic defragging on the SSD. see below)
- Indexing: NO (its better for the drive durability + speed to turn this off. right click on the SSD in "my computer" and uncheck "Allow files on this drive to have contents indexed in addition to file properties" you will probably get some error for some files that cant be accessed just skip them)
- AHCI: preferably enabled (this is a bit tricky since not all motherboards can actually do this. To enable ACHI also differs from pc per pc but there are some steps that are necessary. you can google this easily enough. -> be warned tho! there is no guarantee that this will speed up your SSD, also enabling ACHI requires to be done before installing Windows, you can hack it into the registry later but that can make your system unstable, so read up if you want to do this)

How to check if TRIM is enabled in Windows 7?
Go to the command prompt (run -> CMD) and key in "fsutil behavior query DisableDeleteNotify" if you get a 0 (zero) TRIM is working. To enable it key in "
fsutil behavior set disabledeletenotify 0"

Here is a list with some good tweaks for your SSD (*WARNING* as always be careful what you change, most of these are quiet harmless but there are never guarantees!)

Disable indexing
Description: Indexing creates and maintains a database of file attributes. This can lead to multiple small writes when creating/deleting/modifying files.

Searching for files will still work.
Instructions: Start Menu -> Right-Click Computer -> Manage -> Services and Applications -> Services - > Right-Click Windows Search -> Startup type: Disabled -> OK

Disable defragmentation
Description: Defragmenting a hard disk's used space is only useful on mechanical disks with multi-millisecond latencies. Free-space defragmentation may be useful to SSDs, but this feature is not available in the default Windows Defragmenter.
Instructions: Start Menu -> Right-Click Computer -> Manage -> Services and Applications -> Services - > Right-Click Disk Defragmenter -> Startup type: Disabled -> OK

Disable Write Caching (Depends on SSD. Crucial M4 SSD leave on (as of 9/19/2011)
Description: There is no cache on the SSD, so there are no benefits to write caching. There are conflicting reports on whether this gains speed or not.
Instructions: Start Menu -> Right-Click Computer -> Manage -> Device Manager -> Disk drives -> Right-Click STEC PATA -> Properties -> Policies Tab -> Uncheck Enable write caching -> OK

Firefox - Use memory cache instead of disk cache
Description: If you use Firefox, there's a way to write cached files to RAM instead of the hard disk. This is not only faster, but will significantly reduce writes to the SSD while using the browser.
Instructions: Open Firefox -> Type about:config into the address bar -> Enter -> double-click browser.cache.disk.enable to set the value to False -> Right-Click anywhere -> New -> Integer -> Preference Name "disk.cache.memory.capacity" -> value memory size in KB. Enter 32768 for 32MB, 65536 for 64MB, 131072 for 128MB, etc. -> restart Firefox

Free up extra drive space
Disable the Page File
Description: Eliminate writing memory to the SSD, free over 2GB of disk space. Warning - If you run out of memory the program you're using will crash.
Instructions: Start Menu -> Right-Click Computer -> Properties -> Advanced System Settings -> Settings (Performance) -> Advanced Tab -> Change -> Uncheck Automatically manage -> No paging file -> Set -> OK -> Restart your computer
Alternatively, if you want to play it safer, you can set a custom size of 200MB min and max.

Disable System Restore
Description: Don't write backup copies of files when installing new programs or making system changes. Can free up between a few hundred MB to a couple GB. Warning - Although unlikely, if a driver installation corrupts your system, there won't be an automatic way to recover.
Instructions: Start Menu -> Right-Click Computer -> Properties -> Advanced System Settings -> System Protection Tab -> Configure -> Turn off system protection -> Delete -> OK

Disable Hibernate
Description: You may free up 1GB of space on the SSD if you have 1GB of memory, 2GB of space if you have 2GB memory. You will lose the hibernation feature which allows the equivalent of quick boots and shutdowns.
Instructions: Start Menu -> Type cmd -> Right-Click the cmd Icon -> Run as Administrator -> Type powercfg -h off -> Type exit

And finally the ever important question: What SSD should i buy ?

Unfortunately there is no definitive answer for this question, technology changes and evolves all the time. So if you are planning on buying an SSD read up some reviews on trusted sites (see the websites in the link section).

Links to useful SSD tools:
Crystal Mark Bench + NFO Tool
AS-SSD TOOL
Steam Mover Tool

[Hazaro]

It's safe to post now.

[Corran Horn]

Baller!


Graduation money time :D

[mik83kuu]

Just got a new PC myself :-) Will pick up CPU in a few hours and it's done. All other parts are in already. Display arrives monday so until then I'm still using the old one.

- Z68 motherboard
- 2500K i5 processor
- Antec Kühler 620 CPU water cooling kit
- 16GB DDR3 1600Mhz memory
- 120GB SSD (550Mb read, 520Mb write)
- GTX580 factory overclocked
- Antec Solo II case
- Corsair AX650 PSU

- Hazro HZ27WC (2560x1440, 16:9, S-IPS, no AG coating, glass panel)

[BoobPhysics101]

Bring on the unlockable Radeon 7950's that overclock to 1.1 Ghz.

[Chairmanchuck]

I wanted to buy a new GPU before Christmas.

It seems the best one for about 150 Euros would be the AMD 6870. If I buy this, am I able to play the newest Games in 1080p with almost all details maxed?

[Kalnos]

Subscribing!

Picked up a 240gb m4 a few weeks ago.

[upandaway]

12/16/2011: Reformatted OP in preparation for 2012 Thread. http://tinyurl.com/HazPCDec2011 - Updated Spreadsheet.

Is there a changelog? (since the image in the old thread was updated too)

[Stumpokapow]

What's the ETA on post-Thailand flood HDD prices returning to normal? Looking to buy a 3TB, probably a WD Caviar Green for $120 (last MSRP before the Thai flood), but still showing $310. That's down from $370, but obviously far from normal? I know the original estimate was mid-end calendar Q1 2012, but have there been any progress reports since then on the factory end? I haven't read any and can't find any. Anyone have the scoop?

[theRizzle]

Nice OP Haz, lots of great info there.

Since I realistically won't be able to build my new PC until I get home from work assignment in April/May, I am probably going to end up going with Ivy Bridge, unless something major changes between now and then. So this thread will have to hold me over until then.

[Grayman]

I think I will be building this year. My C2D OC 3.3ghz (sometimes!) and 260gtx got some great use and brought me back to PC gaming but I want to get some framerate boosts. Have a prosperous 2012. Thanks for all your work Hazaro.

[MidgarBlowedUp]

Looking to buy a 3TB

Same here, one idea is to keep an eye out for external drives you can take apart. Sadly, most of the ones I've seen are in that "drive to the store and pray they have one" category.

[RedSwirl]

Okay lemme reiterate the temp problems I've been having.

My system started out as this back in 2007:
Dell XPS 420
Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 2.4GHz
3GB RAM
8800GT 512MB RAM
425w PSU

Back in March of this year I replaced the GPU with an AMD HD6850 and an Antec 550w PSU. A few weeks ago I started having temperature issues which I think resulted in display driver crashes (that could've just been drivers). Now I'm worried if my temperatures are dangerous since my fan is now constantly running at 50% and higher.

When idle, my HD6850 stays around 50 Celsius, and I'm wondering what I should do about that. When playing a game (like Skyrim) it kicks up to around 100. After starting up a profile through Afterburner my GPU now sits around the 70-90 range when playing a game and I'm wondering if that's safe. Is my fan in danger of burning out if it is CONTINUOUSLY running at or above 50% 24/7?

Some other support people are telling me that part of the problem is that 550w isn't enough for my system and that the GPU may be running hot because it isn't getting enough wattage. They also advise I do something about airflow but I don't see what I could do short of leaving the case open at all times (I've seen people do this).

[Link1110]

I'm thinking pf doing something like the $813 build in the OP, but I want the Intel Core i7-2600 processor. Can that mobo handle it, or do I have to get a different one?

[Dash Kappei]

Going to upgrade GPU this year! Slurp!
probably also an i7 instead of my i5 750 since I don't want to change Mb as well :/

[mkenyon]

Issues

550W is more than enough. Contact your card's manufacturer to begin an RMA. Sounds like possible heatsink issues. Otherwise, try rolling back and/or installing beta drivers/hotfixes.

What's the ETA on post-Thailand flood HDD prices returning to normal? Looking to buy a 3TB, probably a WD Caviar Green for $120 (last MSRP before the Thai flood), but still showing $310. That's down from $370, but obviously far from normal? I know the original estimate was mid-end calendar Q1 2012, but have there been any progress reports since then on the factory end? I haven't read any and can't find any. Anyone have the scoop?

Seems like everyday a new article is written saying something else or something new. Worst I've heard is it's going to be 2013 until production gets back to normal. Either way, looks like prices have at least stabilized for the most part. They must be coming down from here. Also, Cav Greens are a pile of poo. HDDs are just one of those things where trying to find the best $:MB ratio is generally a bad way to go about it. Before the floods, I wouldn't have recommended anything under Spinpoint F4's for media type storage, and would push people towards enterprise drives if they didn't want to bother with a RAID1, 5, or 10 array.

Long story short: Spend money on drives. An extra $50 here and there will save your data. This concept generally doesn't hit home until you lose data.

I wanted to buy a new GPU before Christmas. It seems the best one for about 150 Euros would be the AMD 6870. If I buy this, am I able to play the newest Games in 1080p with almost all details maxed?

Nope. Some maybe, some console ports here or there. Certainly not the likes of Witcher 2, BF3, Metro, Crysis, et all.

I'm thinking pf doing something like the $813 build in the OP, but I want the Intel Core i7-2600 processor. Can that mobo handle it, or do I have to get a different one?

Any particular reason? Lots of encoding or video editing? But to answer your question, those mobos are fine.

Going to upgrade GPU this year! Slurp! probably also an i7 instead of my i5 750 since I don't want to change Mb as well :/

Intel is officially putting the fork in Lynnfield. You can most likely swap your RAM to a sandybridge setup. Though, that kind of proc isn't really limiting you too much, especially if you get a really nice OC out of it. Investing in a good cooler and pumping volts into it for a nice overclock might be a good $:performance decision for you until ivybridge or something crazier down the line.

[opticalmace]

Nice OP.

Work is hooking me up with a new system in a week or two, can't wait. :D

Also going to jump on an Ivy Bridge laptop this year. Here's hoping they're out before the end of May.

[K.Jack]

I need to get on that 2012 Gaming Laptop Thread...

[AkIRA_22]

Ahhhhh, jumping the gun?

I'll be upgrading this year, bring on



and



Good times a head.

[Hazaro]

I wanted to buy a new GPU before Christmas. It seems the best one for about 150 Euros would be the AMD 6870. If I buy this, am I able to play the newest Games in 1080p with almost all details maxed?

Newest + near maxed no. Very good graphics and a great framerate with great settings yes. I don't think you will be disappointed. 'Maxed' and 'near maxed' means different things to different people.

What's the ETA on post-Thailand flood HDD prices returning to normal? Looking to buy a 3TB, probably a WD Caviar Green for $120 (last MSRP before the Thai flood), but still showing $310. That's down from $370, but obviously far from normal? I know the original estimate was mid-end calendar Q1 2012, but have there been any progress reports since then on the factory end? I haven't read any and can't find any. Anyone have the scoop?

I don't know, I was under the impressions we have another 3 months at least. But prices should at least start going down next year I think.

Is there a changelog? (since the image in the old thread was updated too)

Roughly:

Move around sections to make more sense.
Better headers
PCPartsPicker
'Picking your parts' anandtech bench, single/dual card, psu wattage
'Putting it all together' Paste, video guides
Removal of wishlist links (timesink for updating)
Add rating scale for PC needed tasks (1-5) aka gaming, emulation, etc
Accessories header
Add FPS capping to utilities with Radeon Pro
Remove Rivetuner and eVGA Percision for MSI Afterburner

+New parts (added GTX560Ti 448, updated prices, swapped RAM)
+Some other small changes in wording or trims in second post

Ahhhhh, jumping the gun?

Threads have a 20,000 post limit so we would have a 3rd topic for 2011 that would be closed at the end of the year with 800 posts or so. I needed to update the thread anyway so I threw it all together.

[Sarcasm]

Any particular reason? Lots of encoding or video editing? But to answer your question, those mobos are fine.

Have been out of loop and see this mentioned. Can you explain?

[Varna]

Just ordered my Corsair Carbide 500R.

I don't know how this fucken even happened. I swear I just started out wanting to build a moderate rig... now I have two damn 580s... :/

[mkenyon]

Have been out of loop and see this mentioned. Can you explain?

i5 2500 and i7 2600 are for all intents and purposes the same processor. The only major difference between the two is hyperthreading, which is hardware voodoo where it convinces the OS that there are actually 8 cores when there are only 4. In programs that can use as many threads(or cores) as possible, this allows for better processing due to how the proc is fed data. The only game that works like that right now is Civ V.

Just ordered my Corsair Carbide 500R. I don't know how this fucken even happened. I swear I just started out wanting to build a moderate rig... now I have two damn 580s... :/

I warned you. See you in a week when you start deciding on which set of 3 120hz monitors you want. (is he being sarcastic?) Dont forget to go to the Race Your PC thread and do it up. Lots of info there on how to squeeze more out of your system.

[bluestuff]

Woot 2012 PC-GAF :)

[Grimm Fandango]

I might drop another 4GB of RAM in my system next year (for 8GB total) but that's probably it.

[Hazaro]

Have been out of loop and see this mentioned. Can you explain?

If you squint you can make it out in the OP under the 1k build CPU comments :p

[Sarcasm]

If you squint you can make it out in the OP under the 1k build CPU comments :p

Just pinch + zoomed now lol

[Soi-Fong]

Gonna start building tomorrow guys!! If it's alrite with you guys, I'll get on here for some troubleshooting and such if I run into problems.

The case is an Arc Midi and the video card I decided to go for after Newegg reinstated my order is the HD 5970. Looking to upgrade then next year Ivy Bridge whenever that comes out and when the non-reference Nvidia 680's come out next year. AS for HDD's I'm sticking with external HDD's for now which I have a crapload of.

Total cost for all these is about 1000 dollars.

[AuthenticM]

subscribed. Thanks TC.

[Wolf Akela]

Master Race? : (

[Hazaro]

Master Race? : (

People getting warnings / temp bans for it since two weeks or so ago?
I had already removed it from the banner months ago.

[Zyzyxxz]

What's a decent cooler for the ATI 5870? I saw the Accelero S2 and its freaking $80. I don't mind paying something good but I can't seem to find any alternatives.

[demolitio]

What would you guys pay for a used 6870 on ebay? I've been looking at a few but want to get some idea on what to pay. Or would you suggest any other card for that price range now? I don't have my disability yet and I'm out of money except for my recent birthday and then Christmas will get me a little more but I want to get one before I feel bad when my deductible is up again in January which I meet in just a few weeks into the year...lol

My 5770 has gone mad after my fan started to do its own thing and then completely died one day when booting up, so I've been looking for a new one for BF3 after getting an early Christmas gift and had everything else upgraded and paid for.

Thanks.

[BoobPhysics101]

What would you guys pay for a used 6870 on ebay? I've been looking at a few but want to get some idea on what to pay. Or would you suggest any other card for that price range now? I don't have my disability yet and I'm out of money except for my recent birthday and then Christmas will get me a little more but I want to get one before I feel bad when my deductible is up again in January which I meet in just a few weeks into the year...lol My 5770 has gone mad after my fan started to do its own thing and then completely died one day when booting up, so I've been looking for a new one for BF3 after getting an early Christmas gift and had everything else upgraded and paid for. Thanks.

You should be able to get a new 6870 for $130 or less on Newegg. I don't know if the 6870's go for much cheaper than that used.

I saw some go for $100 on Craigslist though! So I'd pay $100 or less on eBay.

[Petrie]

Subscribed. I love reading these threads and planning out my eventual yearly upgrades.

[demolitio]

You should be able to get a new 6870 for $130 or less on Newegg. I don't know if the 6870's go for much cheaper than that used. I saw some go for $100 on Craigslist though! So I'd pay $100 or less on eBay.

Alright, thanks. I've been checking CL with no luck so far so I finally looked on ebay and a lot were higher than I expected.

I'm hoping to find a good deal on newegg too since I missed out on the last one. I was also looking at 560's since some had good rebates, but I didn't have enough in my account for the money before rebate which sucked. I need to put some cash in since most of what I have is from selling shit myself, lol. Would a 560 be better for small increase in price than the 6870? I figure the 560ti is too much.

[yamo]

Subbed, gonna upgrade this year for sure!

[Slavik81]

Can we still call them dirty console peasants?

[Slayer-33]

Dat OP.


I love PC land stuff, inner nerdgasm rejoices.

[Smidget]

Alright, thanks. I've been checking CL with no luck so far so I finally looked on ebay and a lot were higher than I expected. I'm hoping to find a good deal on newegg too since I missed out on the last one. .

Create a new Newegg account for NEWCUSTOMER10 ($10 off $50) I have about ~6 accounts for that after building my computer so http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814102948 will be $135 after coupon and rebate....

[Jtrizzy]

Still can't mine to post. I've tried the memory in different slots and nothing. I'm trying to figure out if I messed up the memory or if it is the motherboard. I guess the only way to do this is trying a different stick? The only thing I can think of is I fried the mobo by taking the ram out without unplugging the psu.

I have an Asus P8Z67 V Pro to go with a 2600k@4.5 and a slightly oc'd 580. If it is the case that I fried it, should I just get the same one again? Or get something different. The ram is ddr3 1333 4x2 9 9 9 24. If that isn't ideal I can change that as well, but I really don't want to spend any more than neccesary.

[demolitio]

Create a new Newegg account for NEWCUSTOMER10 ($10 off $50) I have about ~6 accounts for that after building my computer so http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814102948 will be $135 after coupon and rebate....

I wasn't aware of that. Thanks!

[Tashi]

Niiiice. Looking to upgrade to SSD this year.

[Giriath_89]

Can't wait for Kepler GK100 if it's about twice as powerful as a GTX 580, as rumors suggest. I would have a lot of fun overclocking that.

[Gav47]

Thats a damn fine OP. Can't wait for Ivybridge.

[RooMHM]

People getting warnings / temp bans for it since two weeks or so ago? I had already removed it from the banner months ago.

What is this?! People banned for saying the truth? Hmm...

[vaelic]

Nice OP Haz, lots of great info there. Since I realistically won't be able to build my new PC until I get home from work assignment in April/May, I am probably going to end up going with Ivy Bridge, unless something major changes between now and then. So this thread will have to hold me over until then.

is your avatar roger wilco?

[Revoh]

Suscribed. :)

[TurbulentTurtle]

Subbed.

Was going to get a 3TB drive a few months back but I decided to be patient and wait for boxing day sales or something. Then I got screwed.
Samsung F4s good quality though? I kinda wanted to go for a WD Green 3TB as just a storage drive, but WD Greens are unreliable?