[Sethos]

You're not at all. http://www.evga.com/forums/tm.aspx?m...e=2&print=true Quick search I did. I swear it was x8.

Was thinking about that guy testing on his quad SLI setup, can't find it on google right now. He's testing on a card that is already using a pretty lowly bus width but obviously still in some pretty big resolutions and 4 cards. But what when upcoming cards with a 512 bus will suddenly move a ton more data, then you might even see similar bottlenecks on smaller arrays?

Perhaps that's just my logic failing me. In any case, 2011, 1155, everything is PCI Express 3, so no worries.

[HitCtrlAltDel]

What a wonderful way to put it :lol I'm still on the fence. 2500K is a good bit cheaper than the 3570K (about 60 less), but I kinda want new tech! And I'd buy a Z77 board anyway (the Maximus V is only few bucks more expensive than the IV, but still has some bugs *ugh*).

I'm having the same dilemma between the processors. Still undecided. The reviews for Ivy Bridge look like there is very little difference in speed. I'm also debating if I should go with a 3770K or 2600K. Is there any use or advantage to the extra 2MB L3 or hyperthreading? Outside of transcoding video or image processing I can't see it, at least definitely not for gaming. Is it worth an extra ~$100?

[Zombie James]

Do non-K models allow for undervolting?

[Deadstar]

Can you guys recommend the most reliable brand or model for an external esata hard drive? I'm looking for a 1 TB. NewEgg has a bunch of Fantom Drives but a lot of people are posting about the drives dying and it's scaring me.

[HitCtrlAltDel]

Can you guys recommend the most reliable brand or model for an external esata hard drive? I'm looking for a 1 TB. NewEgg has a bunch of Fantom Drives but a lot of people are posting about the drives dying and it's scaring me.

I've never had good luck with external drives, but I have had luck with this external enclosure. Then just pick up a more reliable internal drive for it.

[cartman414]

Gonna be awhile, since PCI-E SSDs are mostly for enterprise. Many of the SATAIII drives with sync/toggle are really good still, so we're good for now.

I'm curious how well that Lucid vsync i/dGPU solution works, because that could be a plus for IB. Hopefully there will be steppings for the new cpus that will take care of the heat issue. (Do steppings apply only for mobos, or also cpus?)

[1-D_FTW]

Do non-K models allow for undervolting?

They should. As long as your motherboard supports it, non-k Sandy bridge chips can be undervolted.

[mkenyon]

I'm having the same dilemma between the processors. Still undecided. The reviews for Ivy Bridge look like there is very little difference in speed. I'm also debating if I should go with a 3770K or 2600K. Is there any use or advantage to the extra 2MB L3 or hyperthreading? Outside of transcoding video or image processing I can't see it, at least definitely not for gaming. Is it worth an extra ~$100?

Streaming and games that can take advantage of that many threads, such as Civ V.

Do non-K models allow for undervolting?

That's all on the motherboard, so yes.

Can you guys recommend the most reliable brand or model for an external esata hard drive? I'm looking for a 1 TB. NewEgg has a bunch of Fantom Drives but a lot of people are posting about the drives dying and it's scaring me.

No such thing. They all pretty much put their worst drives in external enclosures. If reliability is very important to you, get a NAS bay. Otherwise, you could get a Caviar Black or Samsung Spinpoint F3 and put it in a custom external enclosure.

[Deadstar]

Thanks for the answers. Scary stuff :)

[RedSwirl]

Holy shit GAF. You think this might have something to do with my GPU heat issues?

The white stuff is dust after about a years use in case you can't tell. My problem is that compressed air doesn't seem to be getting it out. All It does is spin the fan, and I'm afraid to shoot the air with the nozzel too close to the card. Is there anything else I can use?

[JdFoX187]

I have a strange issue. I installed my GTX 680 and plugged it into my HDTV with an HDMI. It looks aesome, don't get me wrong. I would ay a good three or four inches around each side of the screen are missing. It's like the picture is zoomed in too much. I checked the settings on my TV and it's fine and I've tried tampering with settings in the display menu on the PC, but can't figure it out. Anyone have any ideas?

[mkenyon]

I have a strange issue. I installed my GTX 680 and plugged it into my HDTV with an HDMI. It looks aesome, don't get me wrong. I would ay a good three or four inches around each side of the screen are missing. It's like the picture is zoomed in too much. I checked the settings on my TV and it's fine and I've tried tampering with settings in the display menu on the PC, but can't figure it out. Anyone have any ideas?

Mess with overscan/underscan stuff in the Nvidia controls.

Holy shit GAF. You think this might have something to do with my GPU heat issues? The white stuff is dust after about a years use in case you can't tell. My problem is that compressed air doesn't seem to be getting it out. All It does is spin the fan, and I'm afraid to shoot the air with the nozzel too close to the card. Is there anything else I can use?

Pull the card out, put the nozzle right on top of the heatsink and blow to your heart's content. Try your hardest to not move the fan, that can actually break the fan. You could tape it in place with masking tape.

[Edvardelis]

Holy shit GAF. You think this might have something to do with my GPU heat issues? The white stuff is dust after about a years use in case you can't tell. My problem is that compressed air doesn't seem to be getting it out. All It does is spin the fan, and I'm afraid to shoot the air with the nozzel too close to the card. Is there anything else I can use?

Metro Vacuum Electric Duster.

Accept no substitute. :-p

[RedSwirl]

Pull the card out, put the nozzle right on top of the heatsink and blow to your heart's content. Try your hardest to not move the fan, that can actually break the fan. You could tape it in place with masking tape.

SHIT. The card's stuck in the PCI slot! The left edge won't come out. I think I see a clamp holding it in but I can't reach it and can't move it. The card is stuck halfway in now.

[scogoth]

SHIT. The card's stuck in the PCI slot! The left edge won't come out. I think I see a clamp holding it in but I can't reach it and can't move it. The card is stuck halfway in now.

Get something like a capped pen to reach in and push the clasp

[Corky]

Question : will an SLI setup with 1 potentially broken gpu still result in gpu related crashes and reboots if SLI is disabled?

[RedSwirl]

Got it out. This doesn't look like damage to you does it?

[Hazaro]

Got it out. This doesn't look like damage to you does it?

Looks fine to me

[mkenyon]

Question : will an SLI setup with 1 potentially broken gpu still result in gpu related crashes and reboots if SLI is disabled?

Yep. Need to disable the PCI slot or remove it to test.

Got it out. This doesn't look like damage to you does it?

Not at all. That stuff is crazy sturdy, you'd be surprised how much of a beating it can take.

[RedSwirl]

Also, I'm trying to clean the main fan but I need to disconnect the heat sink's cable from the mobo, and it's not coming out.

[mkenyon]

Also, I'm trying to clean the main fan but I need to disconnect the heat sink's cable from the mobo, and it's not coming out.

Pull harder, and wiggle back and forth. Be sure you are pulling on the connector portion and not the wires.

[arit]

If one would want to buy a gpu within HD8650 price range, would there be any sense in waiting 1-2 months or are there only pricier ones coming out in that time frame?

[1-D_FTW]

Not at all. That stuff is crazy sturdy, you'd be surprised how much of a beating it can take.

Yeah. The only thing that would ever break is the plastic clamp on the motherboard. I had that happen on an old motherboard. But it was zero issue at all. All it meant was that it was easier to pull a GPU card. Properly mounted, a GPU isn't going anywhere even with that plastic thing broken off the motherboard.

[RedSwirl]

You've got to be shitting me. Dusting off the GPU alone is getting me a good 10C difference in temp. Now it's sitting between 35 and 40C when idle. Is that still hot?

[Corky]

Yep. Need to disable the PCI slot or remove it to test.

ok, neither card shows any errors running 15min OCCT yet together in Sli I get random crashes, mobo fucked?

[mkenyon]

You've got to be shitting me. Dusting off the GPU alone is getting me a good 10C difference in temp. Now it's sitting between 35 and 38C when idle. Is that still hot?

Nope. Idle doesn't really mean a whole lot though. As long as it is staying below 90C during load, you're totally fine.

ok, neither card shows any errors running 15min OCCT yet together in Sli I get random crashes, mobo fucked?

Make sure you try every possible combination. Lets say GPU A and GPU B, Slot 1 and Slot 2.

A in 1
A in 2
B in 1
B in 2
A in 1 with B in 2
A in 2 with B in 1

[RedSwirl]

Nope. Idle doesn't really mean a whole lot though. As long as it is staying below 90C during load, you're totally fine.

If I can keep it under 90 while running The Witcher 2 I'll have succeeded.

[Corky]

. Make sure you try every possible combination. Lets say GPU A and GPU B, Slot 1 and Slot 2. A in 1 A in 2 B in 1 B in 2 A in 1 with B in 2 A in 2 with B in 1

cheers, time to get busy

[brotkasten]

I'm having the same dilemma between the processors. Still undecided. The reviews for Ivy Bridge look like there is very little difference in speed. I'm also debating if I should go with a 3770K or 2600K. Is there any use or advantage to the extra 2MB L3 or hyperthreading? Outside of transcoding video or image processing I can't see it, at least definitely not for gaming. Is it worth an extra ~$100?

The most interesting bit that IB has for me, would be native USB 3.0 support. I kinda want that for the sake of having it, even though I don't use or have any peripheral that would take advantage of it. Other than that I realize I have very little reason to get the more expensive successor. Maybe it's different in a month or two, when the launch hype is over and the prices for IB go down a little.

[YoungMoney]

Do you guys think this will be good enough for next gen?
Intel I7 2600k
16gbRam 1600mhz
Evga GTX560Ti
Asus P8Z68-V

Think i might have to upgrade the graphic card.

[1-D_FTW]

Do you guys think this will be good enough for next gen? Intel I7 2600k 16gbRam 1600mhz Evga GTX560Ti Asus P8Z68-V Think i might have to upgrade the graphic card.

The GPU absolutely won't be. Not if you're expecting ports to run 1080P/60fps.

The CPU no one can predict for you. There's a good chance it may, but until we truly know what MS has in-store, it's impossible to say with certainty.

[Hazaro]

Cross posting:

PCIE controller is in the CPU in Intel since Lynnfield, nothing to do with motherboard. If you want 2x16 you need x79 at socket 2011 Reviews UP! http://www.anandtech.com/show/5771/t...7-3770k-review http://www.hardwarecanucks.com/forum...pu-review.html http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/...770k,3181.html http://www.hardwareheaven.com/review...roduction.html http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/artic...PU-Review/1537 http://www.tweaktown.com/reviews/467...iew/index.html

Thanks :)

Main points:
4.4Ghz on ~1.10V seems to be norm, any higher is hard or gets super hot and draws tons of power. Much worse than SB.
About 5% faster roughly for easy numbers
No idle wattage savings, ok load savings

*Useful:

[mkenyon]

The most interesting bit that IB has for me, would be native USB 3.0 support. I kinda want that for the sake of having it, even though I don't use or have any peripheral that would take advantage of it. Other than that I realize I have very little reason to get the more expensive successor. Maybe it's different in a month or two, when the launch hype is over and the prices for IB go down a little.

I keep seeing this, but I dont get it. Its not Ivy that has native USB 3.0 support, Z77 does. But even outside of that, what benefits are there other than maybe marginally better transfer speeds compared to the third party contollers on P67/Z68?

[MrOogieBoogie]

So I've had my new PC (custom built) for about eight months now.

Are there any utilities I can run to make sure everything is up to date (drivers and all that)?

[Varna]

So I've had my new PC (custom built) for about eight months now. Are there any utilities I can run to make sure everything is up to date (drivers and all that)?

Just worry about keeping your graphic card updated. If everything else is running smooth don't go looking for new bios updates for your MB or anything like that.

[Hero]

Hey guys, are Hazaro's PC builds in the OP up to date?

I posted in this thread before because I was going to build a new PC but got out of PC gaming for a while so never pulled the trigger. With Diablo III coming out next month it is absolutely imperative I have a PC to play it on decently.

I already have an i5 2500 processor so the biggest thing I want to look into now is the GPU. Will a GTX460 do well enough for Diablo III on decent/high settings? Is it worth it to go up to a GTX560 Ti 448?

In addition if there's any sales or deals on some nice GPU's or other components that'd be great.

Thanks a bunch.

[Le-mo]

Gaf, can someone give me the overclock configurations for the i5 2500K @4.5gHz on the Intel DP67GB Mobo? I've never oc'd before so I'm afraid to do it by myself. Google was of no help.

[kennah]

Hey guys, are Hazaro's PC builds in the OP up to date? I posted in this thread before because I was going to build a new PC but got out of PC gaming for a while so never pulled the trigger. With Diablo III coming out next month it is absolutely imperative I have a PC to play it on decently. I already have an i5 2500 processor so the biggest thing I want to look into now is the GPU. Will a GTX460 do well enough for Diablo III on decent/high settings? Is it worth it to go up to a GTX560 Ti 448? In addition if there's any sales or deals on some nice GPU's or other components that'd be great. Thanks a bunch.

Generally they are, but with the new cpus releasing at the end of the week, you're better waiting until next week when all the information is in.

[Hazaro]

Hey guys, are Hazaro's PC builds in the OP up to date? I posted in this thread before because I was going to build a new PC but got out of PC gaming for a while so never pulled the trigger. With Diablo III coming out next month it is absolutely imperative I have a PC to play it on decently. I already have an i5 2500 processor so the biggest thing I want to look into now is the GPU. Will a GTX460 do well enough for Diablo III on decent/high settings? Is it worth it to go up to a GTX560 Ti 448? In addition if there's any sales or deals on some nice GPU's or other components that'd be great. Thanks a bunch.

460 more than enough for D3. It's a great performing card across all titles with good settings, but fill out the OP sheet.


4/19/2012: I'll be doing a big update when 670 stuff, Ivy, and and 7xxx price drops happen at the end of the month (April). Keep posting in the thread until then.

Gaf, can someone give me the overclock configurations for the i5 2500K @4.5gHz on the Intel DP67GB Mobo? I've never oc'd before so I'm afraid to do it by myself. Google was of no help.

There is a guide in the OP, you can also ask in the bench thread.
1.30V - 4.4Ghz and work by tweaking from there.

[Hero]

Yeah, will do, kind of comparing and contrasting everything now. Want to get it done within the next week or so. Thanks again everyone, will check in soon.

[maks]

Hey guys, are Hazaro's PC builds in the OP up to date? I posted in this thread before because I was going to build a new PC but got out of PC gaming for a while so never pulled the trigger. With Diablo III coming out next month it is absolutely imperative I have a PC to play it on decently. I already have an i5 2500 processor so the biggest thing I want to look into now is the GPU. Will a GTX460 do well enough for Diablo III on decent/high settings? Is it worth it to go up to a GTX560 Ti 448? In addition if there's any sales or deals on some nice GPU's or other components that'd be great. Thanks a bunch.

I played D3 beta with all high settings, 1920x1080 resolution (on my panasonic 50in plasma).

2600k
Asus Z68 pro/gen3 (returning this for my Asus Maximus V gene Z77)
Radeon 5850

[gate777]

Finished with my build. Final specs

• CPU: Intel Core i5 2500K
• Motherboard: ASUS P8Z68 V-Gen 3
• Heatsink: Cooler Master Hyper 212 Evo
• Ram: Corsair Vengeance DDR3 1600MHz 8GB (2x4GB)
• Case: Cooler Master HAF 912
• HDD: WD 500GB SATA III
• Optical drive: LG DVD-RW
• Monitor: ASUS 22" HD LED
• OS: Windows 7 Home premium 64 Bit
• Power Supply: Cooler Master eXtreme Power plus 600w

It's a beast! Windows installed in less than 5 minutes. GPU will come later in time for Diablo 3 and Baldurs Gate remakes

[GoingGreen]

So I bought the Asus P8Z68-V PRO/GEN3...should I return this for a Z77? Am I going to gain anything? It'll be used for a IB

[RedSwirl]

Jesus. I guess the dust really was the problem with my GPU temps. I just didn't take a close enough look last time I examined it. Under load there's like a 20-30C difference from before.

Modern Warfare 3 used to run my computer to 85C, now it never goes above 65C. The Witcher 2 used to go up past 100C, I just tried it now and the game never went above 74C. The fan is also MUCH quieter now at the same intensities as before.

[Hawk269]

Yes! I think I'm going to wait till some crazies get their hands on retail parts and OC them till they fry and see where IB lands. If not SB-E here I come! I'm also not very impressed with the Z77 boards, no real high end stuff. The maximus formula is damn close if they had more and better 16x slots.

The Evga Z77 board seems to be really nice and Asus WS version seems very good as well. Other than that, also not impressed with the Mobo's for Z77.

[Le-mo]

There is a guide in the OP, you can also ask in the bench thread. 1.30V - 4.4Ghz and work by tweaking from there.

I just tried doing them a few times and I couldn't get windows to load so I went back to the default settings. I read the guide in the OP so I thought I was doing it correctly, but I guess not. Already asked for help in the bench thread so here's hoping.

[MrBig]

So I bought the Asus P8Z68-V PRO/GEN3...should I return this for a Z77? Am I going to gain anything? It'll be used for a IB

If it doesn't cost anything to return it go ahead, but it will still work with ib with a bios update

[hyduK]

Looks like I'll probably just go with a 2500k. My CPU really needs an upgrade, using an old Core 2 Duo. My video card/PSU blew out about a year back, so I had replaced them with a 460GTX and an OCZ ModXStream Pro 500W.

Now, I think I'll hold off on getting my video card, probably for the 660's (any idea when these are to be released?), but is it a safe assumption that my PSU won't be good enough for a 660? I'd rather get that out of the way when I do the initial build, just so I don't have to take everything apart again when I get the GPU.

[Gritesh]

I have an x6 1055t that I have overclocked to 3.9 ghz with 8 gigs of ram and a 7950 3gb gpu.


Is it worth the 400 bucks to go to an i5 2500k or what should my next upgrade be? I have my OS installed on an ssd already too.


I was going to install another 8 gb of ram but it kills my oc stable to 3.5 ghz so I can't do that without sacrificing CPU power.


I'm not sure what I should do now?

[Hazaro]

I just tried doing them a few times and I couldn't get windows to load so I went back to the default settings. I read the guide in the OP so I thought I was doing it correctly, but I guess not. Already asked for help in the bench thread so here's hoping.

Bump the voltage to 1.35V then and see where you stand

I have an x6 1055t that I have overclocked to 3.9 ghz with 8 gigs of ram and a 7950 3gb gpu. Is it worth the 400 bucks to go to an i5 2500k or what should my next upgrade be? I have my OS installed on an ssd already too. I was going to install another 8 gb of ram but it kills my oc stable to 3.5 ghz so I can't do that without sacrificing CPU power. I'm not sure what I should do now?

Well, why are you upgrading?