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[RGM79]

The Logitech K400

Tried different USB ports? I don't suppose there's another PC you could test the keyboard and mouse on? They both come with Unifying receivers, so you've tried both receivers and both have the same problem?

Any wifi networks nearby? As I understand it, the Unifying receiver works on the 2.4GHz band which is shared by wifi devices and some types of cordless phones.

Just bought a ASUS GTX980 that came with download of Witcher 3. It'll be GTAV for a month than on to that. Going from a Radeon 7800. Putting it right in with AMD FX 8350 B.E. and 8 GB of ram.

My big Q is how long will my CPU be great for? What if I want to update my monitor in a year to 2560 x 1440?

Are you overclocking your processor? That will help extend its useful life. Honestly it'll depend on the game, as some games benefit more from CPU than GPU and vice versa. Although your FX-8350 isn't bad, at stock speed it's not on par with an Intel i5 in most cases.

 

[MihowZa]

Don't plan on it.

Although I would look into it if it started to be a bottleneck.

I am slowly talking myself into a new monitor.

 

[cj_iwakura]

If I'm considering finally retiring my Compaq SR1820NX(yeah I know), is this a bad place to start? The fact that Hotline Miami 2 can't run on it makes me sad.

If you must know the specs it has, brace yourself.

Spoiler

AMD AThlon 64+ Processor
2.20GHz, 1.50 GB RAM
GeForce 8400GS

I assume I'm just looking at 'nuke it from orbit' options.

 

[RGM79]

If I'm considering finally retiring my Compaq SR1820NX(yeah I know), is this a bad place to start? The fact that Hotline Miami 2 can't run on it makes me sad.

If you must know the specs it has, brace yourself.

Spoiler

AMD AThlon 64+ Processor
2.20GHz, 1.50 GB RAM
GeForce 8400GS

I assume I'm just looking at 'nuke it from orbit' options.

It's a lost cause. Nothing from it is really reusable, except maybe the hard drive.

What's your budget for a new PC? We'll bring you into the present, kicking and screaming if we have to.

 

[EatinOlives]

I seem to be having issues with my new install

Twice I've left the computer alone for a while. The first time for about an hour while I played Bloodborne, the second while I went to get dinner. Both times the computer got screwed up. The first time the screen was completely black (yes, the monitor was on) and entirely unresponsive, had to reset it via hardware switch.

The second time the desktop image was there, but everything was super laggy. The mouse input stuttered very badly and would freeze completely for a couple of seconds at a time, nothing that I would click on would respond for a solid 2+ minutes, and when it did the ensuing animation (if there was one) took another 2+ minutes to finish. Eventually I tried restarting the computer via the usual option on Windows but it became unresponsive for so long I had to restart it again via hardware switch.

I've had this new motherboard and CPU setup for less than a day, so I haven't been able to "experiment", but what I know so far is that the computer is perfectly fine (even runs games just as it always, and now better if the game's CPU bound ) until I leave it alone for a while, and when I come back everything goes haywire. Could it be some faulty "power saving" mode that just fucks up everything?

Everything's at the stock clock, no OCing going on. I did NOT do a fresh install of windows, I have a student version of Windows 8.1 that are easier to re-activate than regular retail versions so I'll do that, I just haven't gotten around to it.

Specs:

New (as of yesterday):
Intel i5-4690k
Gigabyte GA-Z97MX-Gaming
Hyper Evo 212 Heatsink

Old (as in, not what I replaced yesterday):
Gigabyte GTX 770 2GB
8GB G-SKILL Ripjaws DDR3 RAM (2GB x 4)
Samsung 840 Evo SSD, 256 GB <- This is what I have my Windows install on
1 TB Western Digital HDD
1 TB Samsung HDD

Everything temperature-wise seems to be running fine on idle:

Any ideas?

 

[cj_iwakura]

It's a lost cause. Nothing from it is really reusable, except maybe the hard drive.

What's your budget for a new PC? We'll bring you into the present, kicking and screaming if we have to.

Would rather not spend more than a few hundred if possible. I don't care about things running at max specs, I care about them running period. I've played through The Witcher on this PC, you can imagine what I'm accustomed to.

 

[opticalmace]

I seem to be having issues with my new install

Twice I've left the computer alone for a while. The first time for about an hour while I played Bloodborne, the second while I went to get dinner. Both times the computer got screwed up. The first time the screen was completely black (yes, the monitor was on) and entirely unresponsive, had to reset it via hardware switch.

The second time the desktop image was there, but everything was super laggy. The mouse input stuttered very badly and would freeze completely for a couple of seconds at a time, nothing that I would click on would respond for a solid 2+ minutes, and when it did the ensuing animation (if there was one) took another 2+ minutes to finish. Eventually I tried restarting the computer via the usual option on Windows but it became unresponsive for so long I had to restart it again via hardware switch.

I've had this new motherboard and CPU setup for less than a day, so I haven't been able to "experiment", but what I know so far is that the computer is perfectly fine (even runs games just as it always, and now better if the game's CPU bound ) until I leave it alone for a while, and when I come back everything goes haywire. Could it be some faulty "power saving" mode that just fucks up everything?

Everything's at the stock clock, no OCing going on. I did NOT do a fresh install of windows, I have a student version of Windows 8.1 that are easier to re-activate than regular retail versions so I'll do that, I just haven't gotten around to it.

Specs:

New (as of yesterday):
Intel i5-4690k
Gigabyte GA-Z97MX-Gaming
Hyper Evo 212 Heatsink

Old (as in, not what I replaced yesterday):
Gigabyte GTX 770 2GB
8GB G-SKILL Ripjaws DDR3 RAM (2GB x 4)
Samsung 840 Evo SSD, 256 GB <- This is what I have my Windows install on
1 TB Western Digital HDD
1 TB Samsung HDD

Everything temperature-wise seems to be running fine on idle:


Any ideas?

Clean install after changing fundamental hardware.

 

[EatinOlives]

Clean install after changing fundamental hardware.

Yeah....

It's not an "idle" thing. I was using the computer and it slowly crippled itself in real time. Apparently I just haven't used the computer for longer than 10 minutes but it's not long after the half hour mark that it goes to shit.

I'll heed your advice and do a clean install. I was hoping to avoid it but I highly doubt it's possible now anyway lol

 

[knitoe]

I seem to be having issues with my new install

Twice I've left the computer alone for a while. The first time for about an hour while I played Bloodborne, the second while I went to get dinner. Both times the computer got screwed up. The first time the screen was completely black (yes, the monitor was on) and entirely unresponsive, had to reset it via hardware switch.

The second time the desktop image was there, but everything was super laggy. The mouse input stuttered very badly and would freeze completely for a couple of seconds at a time, nothing that I would click on would respond for a solid 2+ minutes, and when it did the ensuing animation (if there was one) took another 2+ minutes to finish. Eventually I tried restarting the computer via the usual option on Windows but it became unresponsive for so long I had to restart it again via hardware switch.

I've had this new motherboard and CPU setup for less than a day, so I haven't been able to "experiment", but what I know so far is that the computer is perfectly fine (even runs games just as it always, and now better if the game's CPU bound ) until I leave it alone for a while, and when I come back everything goes haywire. Could it be some faulty "power saving" mode that just fucks up everything?

Everything's at the stock clock, no OCing going on. I did NOT do a fresh install of windows, I have a student version of Windows 8.1 that are easier to re-activate than regular retail versions so I'll do that, I just haven't gotten around to it.

Specs:

New (as of yesterday):
Intel i5-4690k
Gigabyte GA-Z97MX-Gaming
Hyper Evo 212 Heatsink

Old (as in, not what I replaced yesterday):
Gigabyte GTX 770 2GB
8GB G-SKILL Ripjaws DDR3 RAM (2GB x 4)
Samsung 840 Evo SSD, 256 GB <- This is what I have my Windows install on
1 TB Western Digital HDD
1 TB Samsung HDD

Everything temperature-wise seems to be running fine on idle:


Any ideas?

Did you update the 840 EVO firmware? If no, do so. If yes, trying going into POWER OPTIONS and disabling sleep / hibernate.

 

[Fou-Lu]

I'm looking to buy an emulator/indie box for my living room. Small form factor. Am I right in thinking an AMD APU is the way to go? Any other tips for such a build?

 

[EatinOlives]

Did you update the 840 EVO firmware? If no, do so. If yes, trying going into POWER OPTIONS and disabling sleep / hibernate.

Not since changing the mobo and CPU. I'll try upgrading the firmware again before a clean install, in the off chance that'll fix everything

 

[RGM79]

Would rather not spend more than a few hundred if possible. I don't care about things running at max specs, I care about them running period. I've played through The Witcher on this PC, you can imagine what I'm accustomed to.

Here's the cheapest parts list for a complete PC that I can recommend, assuming you're in the US. I'm not exactly sure how much you mean by "a few hundred", though.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Pentium G3258 3.2GHz Dual-Core Processor ($64.98 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: ASRock Z97M Anniversary Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($74.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($53.10 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($52.49 @ OutletPC)
Case: Cooler Master N200 MicroATX Mid Tower Case ($43.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Power Supply: EVGA 600B 600W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($49.99 @ NCIX US)
Total: $339.54
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-04-14 00:37 EDT-0400

I actually recommend you look for a used graphics card if you're looking to save money. Used PC cases would also be safe to buy. Used power supplies, processors, RAM, and motherboards are also an option but be careful and make sure they're working, of course.

If possible, bumping up to an i3 processor would do a lot to make the PC more usable for certain games that don't run well on a dual core processor (Far Cry 4, Dragon Age Inquisition, etc) but I don't know what games you play.

I'm looking to buy an emulator/indie box for my living room. Small form factor. Am I right in thinking an AMD APU is the way to go? Any other tips for such a build?

AMD APUs will work great for that, they have strong integrated graphics chipsets that will beat Intel graphics. Look into mITX or mATX form factors for small size. Depending on how much you want to spend and what else you may be playing, you may want to go with Intel and an actual graphics card instead for higher performance.

The higher rated speed of the RAM you buy for your build will make a considerable difference for AMD APU performance, so aim for 2133MHz or better. Make sure the latency (CL or CAS) isn't too high, though.

 

[orfax]

For that much money, perhaps consider going with the more future-looking X99 platform instead of Z97. A hexa core processor like the 5820K and DDR4 RAM will cost more but last you longer than the quad core 4790K and DDR3. As for some other parts like the Asus Maximus, Samsung 850 Pro, and WD Black, they are top of the line but not that great for price to performance. Unless you're doing heavy computation or video editing that much RAM is overkill, even 4K work only needs 16GB. If you don't mind tinkering a little for better bang for your buck would recommend you get a cheaper and lower clocked graphics card you can overclock yourself. I would also recommend you look at much cheaper alternatives (Crucial SSD, Toshiba 7200RPM drives, other motherboards, etc), there are others that offer nearly the same performance and the performance differences are unnoticeable.

Your current cooler will work with Z97/socket 115X, they all have the same mounting system. If you go with X99/socket 2011v3 it'll need a different cooler or different mounting brackets.

700 watts is enough for either overclocking both CPU and a single graphics card, or running twin GTX 980 without any overclocking.

Thanks for your input RGM79.

Reducing the memory was one thing I was thinking to get the price down.

I've taken your advice and gone through pcpartpicker. Again let me remind you these are Australian prices so while our dollar is at a woeful exchange rate we also pay higher prices because. Sorry if I'm telling you stuff you already know.

Here is the selection that I originally put up. The graphics card is different because pcpartpicker wasn't finding the cheapest card, but its only $30 different.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-4790K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor ($469.00 @ CPL Online)
Motherboard: Asus MAXIMUS VII HERO ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($309.00 @ IJK)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws Z Series 32GB (4 x 8GB) DDR3-2133 Memory ($399.00 @ CPL Online)
Storage: Samsung 850 Pro Series 256GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($212.00 @ IJK)
Storage: Western Digital BLACK SERIES 4TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($295.00 @ Centre Com)
Video Card: Gainward GeForce GTX 980 4GB Phantom Video Card ($699.00 @ CPL Online)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($128.00 @ Mwave Australia)
Monitor: AOC G2460PG 144Hz 24.0" Monitor ($569.00 @ CPL Online)
Total: $3080.00
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-04-14 15:15 EST+1000


Here is an X99 based system. I have chosen pretty much the cheapest or best value components. The main difference here is that the one below has the ASUS ROG monitor, the one above has the AOC monitor. If I replace the AOC with the ROG one above it comes to about $150 more than the X99 system.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-5820K 3.3GHz 6-Core Processor ($529.00 @ CPL Online)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($45.00 @ CPL Online)
Motherboard: ASRock X99 Extreme4 ATX LGA2011-3 Motherboard ($335.00 @ Umart)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws Series 16GB (4 x 4GB) DDR4-2133 Memory ($277.00 @ IJK)
Storage: Crucial MX100 256GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($149.00 @ PCCaseGear)
Storage: Toshiba 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($99.00 @ IJK)
Storage: Toshiba 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($99.00 @ IJK)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 980 4GB WINDFORCE 3X Video Card ($699.00 @ Centre Com)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($128.00 @ Mwave Australia)
Monitor: Asus ROG SWIFT PG278Q 144Hz 27.0" Monitor ($999.00 @ Centre Com)
Total: $3359.00
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-04-14 15:57 EST+1000


Again I decided to respec the Z97 based system from the original spec, taking into account your suggestions but keeping the ROG (yes you can see I really want that larger monitor). So the memory is reduced to 16GB and slower rating (slower than what is my soon to be old PC, lol). Also changed to an i5 instead of an i7.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($325.00 @ CPL Online)
Motherboard: ASRock Fatal1ty Z97 Killer ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($179.00 @ CPL Online)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($166.00 @ IJK)
Storage: Crucial MX100 256GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($149.00 @ PCCaseGear)
Storage: Toshiba 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($99.00 @ IJK)
Storage: Toshiba 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($99.00 @ IJK)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 980 4GB WINDFORCE 3X Video Card ($699.00 @ Centre Com)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($128.00 @ Mwave Australia)
Monitor: Asus ROG SWIFT PG278Q 144Hz 27.0" Monitor ($999.00 @ Centre Com)
Total: $2843.00
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-04-14 15:58 EST+1000


The X99 system while more future proof is a little too pricey still. I did originally look going in that direction, but quickly discarded it as a pricey option. After your suggestion I thought I better check it out.

 

[RGM79]

Thanks for your input RGM79.

Reducing the memory was one thing I was thinking to get the price down.

I've taken your advice and gone through pcpartpicker. Again let me remind you these are Australian prices so while our dollar is at a woeful exchange rate we also pay higher prices because. Sorry if I'm telling you stuff you already know.

Here is the selection that I originally put up. The graphics card is different because pcpartpicker wasn't finding the cheapest card, but its only $30 different.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Here is an X99 based system. I have chosen pretty much the cheapest or best value components. The main difference here is that the one below has the ASUS ROG monitor, the one above has the AOC monitor. If I replace the AOC with the ROG one above it comes to about $150 more than the X99 system.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Again I decided to respec the Z97 based system from the original spec, taking into account your suggestions but keeping the ROG (yes you can see I really want that larger monitor). So the memory is reduced to 16GB and slower rating (slower than what is my soon to be old PC, lol). Also changed to an i5 instead of an i7.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant


The X99 system while more future proof is a little too pricey still. I did originally look going in that direction, but quickly discarded it as a pricey option. After your suggestion I thought I better check it out.

I took a try at configuring an X99 parts list, but it doesn't work for you unless it's under $3000? Oh well, just slightly out of your price range, I guess. I understand your pain of having overpriced computer parts as I live in Canada, although it's not as bad over here. Here's my version of your i5 build:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($325.00 @ CPL Online)
Motherboard: MSI Z97S SLI Krait Edition ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($189.00 @ CPL Online)
Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-2400 Memory ($172.98 @ Mwave Australia)
Storage: Crucial BX100 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($135.00 @ Umart)
Storage: Toshiba 3TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($130.00 @ IJK)
Video Card: Gainward GeForce GTX 980 4GB Phantom Video Card ($699.00 @ CPL Online)
Case: Cooler Master CM 690 II Advanced NVIDIA Edition ATX Mid Tower Case (Purchased For $0.00)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($128.00 @ Mwave Australia)
Monitor: Asus ROG SWIFT PG278Q 144Hz 27.0" Monitor ($999.00 @ Centre Com)
Total: $2777.98
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-04-14 16:40 EST+1000

I found faster 2400MHz RAM and changed the motherboard for one that supports SLI, in case you want the option in the future to have a second GTX 980.

Do you specifically need 4TB of storage space for a certain reason? Those 2TB Toshiba drives are cheap (works out to $0.050/GB), but otherwise I'd look at the 3TB Toshiba DT01ACA300 ($130), it's even cheaper ($0.043/GB).

One thing to note - while the Gigabyte graphics card is a good one, I am concerned that it will not fit your case. The 690 II Advance's product page says it supports graphics cards up to 304mm long, while the Gigabyte GTX 980 Windforce card's product page says it's 312mm long, so it seems to be just less than a centimetre too long for your case. For the time being, I put the Gainward model there as a placeholder. I'm not sure exactly which GALAX card you're talking about, but if it's this one then it'll fit into your case.

Oh, and when are you planning to put the PC together? Latest rumors say AMD's new R9 3XX line will be launched in June, and Nvidia may counter with price drops or launching the new GTX "980 Ti" soon afterward.

Also, Windows 7/8.1 licenses can be bought from reddit's microsoftsoftwareswap for ~$25 AUD or less. These are most likely legitimate keys that are resold from educational programs like Technet or Dreamspark. However, you are dealing with a person instead of a retailer, and informal Windows keys sales are unapproved by Microsoft and probably breaking some licensing agreement to be clear, but it's not illegal. The risks involved are that the person could be selling you a fake or used key, or that Microsoft may deactivate your license and refuse to reactivate it, although it's somewhat unlikely, usually only if the seller and their list of sold keys was caught. We've had people here using those keys without issues for a long time and others who say Microsoft deactivated their key after several months. It's an option to save money, it's up to you.

 

[Skelter]

I've been saving money and I think it's finally time to start looking at parts the thing is I'm a bit lost. I know what I want though. I experienced a 144z PC and I want that for myself and this is where I need GAF's help. I have no idea what is necessary for a PC to play games at such a framerate and I don't expect to run Witcher 3 at that but If anyone can help me out I'd appreciate it. The last time I build a PC was back in 2006 or whenever the Q6600 was a monster so I'm out of touch here.

I have a decent sized budget 2000+ but I'd like to buy a new monitor and hopefully not go too crazy but I'm willing to. So, anyone wanna help? I'm still just looking at the info on the OP but it's just a lot for me to take in at once. I'll also mention that I do have a Crucial MX100 512GB SSD and Windows 8 key for a future build so that doesn't need to be factored into the build.

 

[RGM79]

I've been saving money and I think it's finally time to start looking at parts the thing is I'm a bit lost. I know what I want though. I experienced a 144z PC and I want that for myself and this is where I need GAF's help. I have no idea what is necessary for a PC to play games at such a framerate and I don't expect to run Witcher 3 at that but If anyone can help me out I'd appreciate it. The last time I build a PC was back in 2006 or whenever the Q6600 was a monster so I'm out of touch here.

I have a decent sized budget 2000+ but I'd like to buy a new monitor and hopefully not go too crazy but I'm willing to. So, anyone wanna help? I'm still just looking at the info on the OP but it's just a lot for me to take in at once. I'll also mention that I do have a Crucial MX100 512GB SSD and Windows 8 key for a future build so that doesn't need to be factored into the build.

Country? Do you have a specific monitor in mind, or an idea of how much you want to spend on one?

 

[Skelter]

Country? Do you have a specific monitor in mind, or an idea of how much you want to spend on one?

USA. Monitor, not really but eh I guess in the lower end range as much as I'd like a Gsync display I'm not going to spend that much on a monitor. Someday. I'm fine with 1080p resolution for gaming and I mostly play single player games so I don't need the fastest response time either if that matters for the most part I want my money going towards the PC itself. Budget is around $2500 maybe $3000.


EDIT: How does this look? Oh, I also do have a Microcenter I can go to.

 

[Coulomb_Barrier]

If anyone is interested I installed the Samsung SM951 256GB M.2 drive yesterday and the thing is as fast as the maketing hype suggested, although my benchmark below falls a little lower than the peak speeds this thing is supposed to be capable of:

To put that into context, the read speed is over a whopping 5-times faster than what I was getting on my 256GB Crucial MX100 SSD, write speed benchmark over 4x faster. I'm using the SM951 as a boot drive and the PC boots in several seconds. OS feels incredibly snappy, folders/document windows load instantly (I mean instantly!). Photoshop is installed on the drive too as I am using my PC as a workstation and it loads in just over a few seconds.

So I would recommend one of these as a boot drive for anyone wanting the massive speed. It was no trouble getting this set-up on my MSI X99 SLI Plus motherboard and installing Windows 7 on it. This drive should work out of the box for higher end modern motherboards and will also work with older boards with BIOS tweaks.

Even though this drive is meant to be a PCIe device, it still worked when running under the default 'SATA Strap' in the BIOS, albeit with decreased speeds. Setting this to PCIE M.2 SSD gave me the benchmark readings above. Some tweaks here and there with settings and OCing my CPU (got a 5820K at stock still) should also increase the performance slightly.

 

[Randomizer123454444]

Is this the right thread to ask? I can't think of a better one.

I bought an i5 3570k, NOT overclocked, three years ago. Recently I have run into cpu overheating issue. It seems that only now I'm starting to encounter games that tax the CPU so much that eventually, after 15 - 30 minutes (or so) of running at 95-100% load, computer crashes and when it restarts, it shouts at me about a CPU overheating error. Temperature can get over 100 degrees celsius. That's not good. I have a stock CPU fan + 2 case fans (both default fans that came with the case)

I have managed to avoid overheating by keeping CPU load around 80 - 85% max.

My question is this: what kind of cooling should I get? I know very little of cooling and how much it affects the cpu. My main criteria is that it should be easy to install.. I'd rather not do intricate water cooling systems for example.

 

[Coulomb_Barrier]

Is this the right thread to ask? I can't think of a better one.

I bought an i5 3570k, NOT overclocked, three years ago. Recently I have run into cpu overheating issue. It seems that only now I'm starting to encounter games that tax the CPU so much that eventually, after 15 - 30 minutes (or so) of running at 95-100% load, computer crashes and when it restarts, it shouts at me about a CPU overheating error. Temperature can get over 100 degrees celsius. That's not good. I have a stock CPU fan + 2 case fans (both default fans that came with the case)

I have managed to avoid overheating by keeping CPU load around 80 - 85% max.

My question is this: what kind of cooling should I get? I know very little of cooling and how much it affects the cpu. My main criteria is that it should be easy to install.. I'd rather not do intricate water cooling systems for example.

Not sure if there is something wrong with the way your stock CPU cooler is installed, as those temps seem high.

Regardless, you should have an aftermarket cooler for the 3570k. You can pick up the Hyper 212 EVO for really cheap, and this should be good for the job and really easy to install.

If you don't want a AIO liquid cooler, the best two air coolers for the price are the Noctua NH-D15 or the Phanteks PH-TC14PE, although you may find them slightly harder to install but still pretty straightforward.

 

[Geneijin]

Is this the right thread to ask? I can't think of a better one.

I bought an i5 3570k, NOT overclocked, three years ago. Recently I have run into cpu overheating issue. It seems that only now I'm starting to encounter games that tax the CPU so much that eventually, after 15 - 30 minutes (or so) of running at 95-100% load, computer crashes and when it restarts, it shouts at me about a CPU overheating error. Temperature can get over 100 degrees celsius. That's not good. I have a stock CPU fan + 2 case fans (both default fans that came with the case)

I have managed to avoid overheating by keeping CPU load around 80 - 85% max.

My question is this: what kind of cooling should I get? I know very little of cooling and how much it affects the cpu. My main criteria is that it should be easy to install.. I'd rather not do intricate water cooling systems for example.

What are your current idle temps? Have you checked them using HWMonitor or alike?

 

[Coulomb_Barrier]

Interesting piece by Hexus on how SLI EVGA GTX 970 SSC offer a lot more performance than a Titan X and about the same as the R9 295X2.

More evidence that the Titan X is really overpriced as that SLI set up is around £500, same as the R9 295X2.

 

[Randomizer123454444]

Not sure if there is something wrong with the way your stock CPU cooler is installed, as those temps seem high.

What are your current idle temps? Have you checked them using HWMonitor or alike?

I'll check when I get home in few hours. But if I remember right, something around +40C.

Hmm, have you given your PC a good cleaning lately? I wouldn't expect the 3570K to overheat when not overclocked. It might also need a fresh application of thermal paste too.

What case do you have? That will determine the size of the cooler you can get.

I'm...actually not sure about the thermal paste. I built this 3 years ago and I do have a memory of buying paste and putting it but.. well, it's been 3 years. Better check now that I think of it.

My case:

http://www.coolermaster.com/case/mid-tower/silencio-550/

 

[RGM79]

USA. Monitor, not really but eh I guess in the lower end range as much as I'd like a Gsync display I'm not going to spend that much on a monitor. Someday. I'm fine with 1080p resolution for gaming and I mostly play single player games so I don't need the fastest response time either if that matters for the most part I want my money going towards the PC itself. Budget is around $2500 maybe $3000.

EDIT: How does this look? Oh, I also do have a Microcenter I can go to.

Alright, I can work with that. I'm not much of a monitor guy though, so I'll leave a sizable chunk of your budget for that if anyone else here can come up with monitor recommendations. Being able to go to Microcenter for the processor and motherboard will save a lot of money. Even without that, you have a lot of room to work with.

Any preference on the size of the PC or case aesthetics? Here's a list of parts to start with:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-5820K 3.3GHz 6-Core Processor ($299.99 @ Micro Center)
CPU Cooler: Phanteks PH-TC14PE 78.1 CFM CPU Cooler ($59.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock X99 Extreme4 ATX LGA2011-3 Motherboard ($149.99)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LPX 16GB (4 x 4GB) DDR4-2666 Memory ($189.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Crucial MX100 512GB 2.5" Solid State Drive (Purchased For $0.00)
Storage: Toshiba Product SeriesT01ACA 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($72.99 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 980 4GB Superclocked ACX 2.0 Video Card (2-Way SLI) ($539.98 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 980 4GB Superclocked ACX 2.0 Video Card (2-Way SLI) ($539.98 @ NCIX US)
Case: Corsair 500R Black ATX Mid Tower Case ($79.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: EVGA 850W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($79.99 @ NCIX US)
Total: $2012.89
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-04-14 05:15 EDT-0400

Twin GTX 980s is a little crazy but it would handle a lot of games at high settings and very high framerate. I suppose a single Titan X would be an option as well.

If anyone is interested I installed the Samsung SM951 256GB M.2 drive yesterday and the thing is as fast as the maketing hype suggested, although my benchmark below falls a little lower than the peak speeds this thing is supposed to be capable of:

To put that into context, the read speed is over a whopping 5-times faster than what I was getting on my 256GB Crucial MX100 SSD, write speed benchmark over 4x faster. I'm using the SM951 as a boot drive and the PC boots in several seconds. OS feels incredibly snappy, folders/document windows load instantly (I mean instantly!). Photoshop is installed on the drive too as I am using my PC as a workstation and it loads in just over a few seconds.

So I would recommend one of these as a boot drive for anyone wanting the massive speed. It was no trouble getting this set-up on my MSI X99 SLI Plus motherboard and installing Windows 7 on it. This drive should work out of the box for higher end modern motherboards and will also work with older boards with BIOS tweaks.

Even though this drive is meant to be a PCIe device, it still worked when running under the default 'SATA Strap' in the BIOS, albeit with decreased speeds. Setting this to PCIE M.2 SSD gave me the benchmark readings above. Some tweaks here and there with settings and OCing my CPU (got a 5820K at stock still) should also increase the performance slightly.

Holy hell that's amazingly fast. How did you get your hands on one?

Is this the right thread to ask? I can't think of a better one.

I bought an i5 3570k, NOT overclocked, three years ago. Recently I have run into cpu overheating issue. It seems that only now I'm starting to encounter games that tax the CPU so much that eventually, after 15 - 30 minutes (or so) of running at 95-100% load, computer crashes and when it restarts, it shouts at me about a CPU overheating error. Temperature can get over 100 degrees celsius. That's not good. I have a stock CPU fan + 2 case fans (both default fans that came with the case)

I have managed to avoid overheating by keeping CPU load around 80 - 85% max.

My question is this: what kind of cooling should I get? I know very little of cooling and how much it affects the cpu. My main criteria is that it should be easy to install.. I'd rather not do intricate water cooling systems for example.

Hmm, have you given your PC a good cleaning lately? I wouldn't expect the 3570K to overheat when not overclocked. It might also need a fresh application of thermal paste too.

What case do you have? That will determine the size of the cooler you can get.

The usual go-to recommendation is the Cooler Master Hyper 212 Evo, an excellent cooler for around $30 that can do moderate overclocking. Some say it's not the easiest to install, it's just tricky because of the X locking bracket. It's easier to install the 212 Evo on top of the CPU with the motherboard out of the case.

Otherwise, Noctua's known for high quality cooling solutions that are relatively easy to install, but are pricier. Quite a while back in this thread, someone mentioned the Cryorig H5 and H7 which seem quite easy to install and are available from Newegg but cost a little bit more than the 212 Evo.

 

[Photolysis]

If anyone is interested I installed the Samsung SM951 256GB M.2 drive yesterday and the thing is as fast as the maketing hype suggested, although my benchmark below falls a little lower than the peak speeds this thing is supposed to be capable of

Pretty amazing stuff. I'm really looking forward to the technology maturing and coming down in price.

 

[Coulomb_Barrier]

Pretty amazing stuff. I'm really looking forward to the technology maturing and coming down in price.

Holy hell that's amazingly fast. How did you get your hands on one?

I pre-ordered one from QuietPC who were the only place selling them in the UK, they had about 15 256GB models. These are not too expensive at £198 including delivery and apparently they don't run as hot as the XP941 whilst being significantly faster.

I recommend one for a fast workstation, although not sure about installing games on the drive

 

[Skelter]

Alright, I can work with that. I'm not much of a monitor guy though, so I'll leave a sizable chunk of your budget for that if anyone else here can come up with monitor recommendations. Being able to go to Microcenter for the processor and motherboard will save a lot of money. Even without that, you have a lot of room to work with.

Any preference on the size of the PC or case aesthetics? Here's a list of parts to start with:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-5820K 3.3GHz 6-Core Processor ($299.99 @ Micro Center)
CPU Cooler: Phanteks PH-TC14PE 78.1 CFM CPU Cooler ($59.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock X99 Extreme4 ATX LGA2011-3 Motherboard ($149.99)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LPX 16GB (4 x 4GB) DDR4-2666 Memory ($189.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Crucial MX100 512GB 2.5" Solid State Drive (Purchased For $0.00)
Storage: Toshiba Product SeriesT01ACA 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($72.99 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 980 4GB Superclocked ACX 2.0 Video Card (2-Way SLI) ($539.98 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 980 4GB Superclocked ACX 2.0 Video Card (2-Way SLI) ($539.98 @ NCIX US)
Case: Corsair 500R Black ATX Mid Tower Case ($79.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: EVGA 850W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($79.99 @ NCIX US)
Total: $2012.89
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-04-14 05:15 EDT-0400

Twin GTX 980s is a little crazy but it would handle a lot of games at high settings and very high framerate. I suppose a single Titan X would be an option as well..

Wow, really great. Thanks. Case wise, full tower for potential future upgrades. I'll take a look but I'm open to suggestions.

Antec Twelve Hundred how's this?

 

[mulac]

My trusty Billion 7800N of 5 years is finally on its last legs - wireless keeps dropping; i'm streaming from a seperate mounted hard disk from another room which keeps hanging etc etc.

So! Along with my shiny new Asus GTX 980 Strix 4GB graphics card which is on the way as of now; i need to grab a new router...usually have +8 devices connected wirelessly so something really strong - price not really an object i would rather spend where its due for this.

Looking at this one: any recommendations (i'm in Australia so hampered by the stupid buying laws here...)

http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=200_1439&products_id=27761

 

[cj_iwakura]

Here's the cheapest parts list for a complete PC that I can recommend, assuming you're in the US. I'm not exactly sure how much you mean by "a few hundred", though.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Pentium G3258 3.2GHz Dual-Core Processor ($64.98 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: ASRock Z97M Anniversary Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($74.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($53.10 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($52.49 @ OutletPC)
Case: Cooler Master N200 MicroATX Mid Tower Case ($43.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Power Supply: EVGA 600B 600W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($49.99 @ NCIX US)
Total: $339.54
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-04-14 00:37 EDT-0400

I actually recommend you look for a used graphics card if you're looking to save money. Used PC cases would also be safe to buy. Used power supplies, processors, RAM, and motherboards are also an option but be careful and make sure they're working, of course.

If possible, bumping up to an i3 processor would do a lot to make the PC more usable for certain games that don't run well on a dual core processor (Far Cry 4, Dragon Age Inquisition, etc) but I don't know what games you play.

That sounds about right. And mostly RPGs, but a lot of older stuff too(Namely GOG and obscure Japanese titles for translation hacking purposes).

Thanks for the info.

 

[kraspkibble]

deleted

 

[Dinjoralo]

So, I need a bit of help. My Biostar H77MU33 motherboard won't let me overclock my i5-3570k for some reason. I have the latest version of the BIOS flashed on there, and the Biostar website says it supports this CPU, does anyone know what's wrong?

 

[Poetic]

Looking for part suggestions. I have a budget around $2200 and the only thing I know I want in the PC for sure is a 500gb Samsung EVO. I don't need extra hard drives, that one would do.

I'd also like the entire system to match color/scheme wise. The NZXT cases are pretty nice, black/red probably seems like the easiest to accomplish.

System will be strictly for gaming. Thanks in advance if someone chooses to help.

 

[glaurung]

Guys I have weird question about dual monitor use.

I used to have two 22" ViewSonic displays that only took DVI or VGA input (not even HDMI). I had both hooked up from my GeForce 970 (and 680 before that). Those video cards always have double DVI ports nowadays. The native resolution of those old displays was 1680x1050.

Then, I replaced one of my 22" displays with a newer 27" WQHD ViewSonic. That one takes DisplayPort input and has a native resolution of 2560x1440. So now I have one display running at WQHD and the other is one of the older 1680x1050 displays.

Can I replace the other old monitor with an identical WQHD display? More to the point - can I get double WQHD from my PC? I imagine I would need to hook it up using HDMI because there is no second DisplayPort on my video card.

Please advise.

 

[riflen]

Guys I have weird question about dual monitor use.

I used to have two 22" ViewSonic displays that only took DVI or VGA input (not even HDMI). I had both hooked up from my GeForce 970 (and 680 before that). Those video cards always have double DVI ports nowadays. The native resolution of those old displays was 1680x1050.

Then, I replaced one of my 22" displays with a newer 27" WQHD ViewSonic. That one takes DisplayPort input and has a native resolution of 2560x1440. So now I have one display running at WQHD and the other is one of the older 1680x1050 displays.

Can I replace the other old monitor with an identical WQHD display? More to the point - can I get double WQHD from my PC? I imagine I would need to hook it up using HDMI because there is no second DisplayPort on my video card.

Please advise.

Are these QHD displays 60Hz only? You should be able to manage that fine. Nvidia state the maximum resolution supported by the 970 is 5120x3200. If you don't have any more DisplayPorts available, you should use Dual-link DVI for the second display. If the display doesn't support DVI, you can adapt DVI to DisplayPort. Avoid HDMI if you can as its designed more for consumer electronics and not computer monitors.

 

[glaurung]

Are these QHD displays 60Hz only? You should be able to manage that fine. Nvidia state the maximum resolution supported by the 970 is 5120x3200. If you don't have any more DisplayPorts available, you should use Dual-link DVI for the second display. If the display doesn't support DVI, you can adapt DVI to DisplayPort. Avoid HDMI if you can as its designed more for consumer electronics and not computer monitors.

Much obliged, I will look into the Dual-Link DVI connection then.

 

[riflen]

Much obliged, I will look into the Dual-Link DVI connection then.

Beware you will require a dual-link DVI cable, as distinct from single-link. Assume a cable is single-link, unless explicitly stated.

 

[orfax]

I found faster 2400MHz RAM and changed the motherboard for one that supports SLI, in case you want the option in the future to have a second GTX 980.

Do you specifically need 4TB of storage space for a certain reason? Those 2TB Toshiba drives are cheap (works out to $0.050/GB), but otherwise I'd look at the 3TB Toshiba DT01ACA300 ($130), it's even cheaper ($0.043/GB).

Great, thanks for doing that. Will definitely go for that RAM and motherboard. Currently my PC has a 3TB thats nearly full. I'll be cleaning up where I can but a lot of stuff will be coming over. Hence my reason for going 4TB. I couldn't find a priced 4TB Toshiba drive on pcpartpicker, but one of the stores definitely has them (for $199), so they were just place holders in the list. The 3TB I currently have is going to be repurposed for something else afterwards.

One thing to note - while the Gigabyte graphics card is a good one, I am concerned that it will not fit your case. The 690 II Advance's product page says it supports graphics cards up to 304mm long, while the Gigabyte GTX 980 Windforce card's product page says it's 312mm long, so it seems to be just less than a centimetre too long for your case. For the time being, I put the Gainward model there as a placeholder. I'm not sure exactly which GALAX card you're talking about, but if it's this one then it'll fit into your case.

Oh that is something for me to keep in mind. I did check some of the cards and sizes, but I didn't realise others got that long. The specific one I was talking about is here at PCCaseGear, and I think it's the same one that you linked. I'm not sure what the V2 signifies. Its the cheapest I've found and fits my case. The Gainward does as well, but it takes 3 slots instead of 2 because of its cooling setup.

Oh, and when are you planning to put the PC together? Latest rumors say AMD's new R9 3XX line will be launched in June, and Nvidia may counter with price drops or launching the new GTX "980 Ti" soon afterward.

At this stage its probably late April, early May, but there is no strict deadline or anything like that.

You've been a great help. Thanks.

 

[glaurung]

Beware you will require a dual-link DVI cable, as distinct from single-link. Assume a cable is single-link, unless explicitly stated.

Hmm. I am even more confused now.

The video card I have apparently has one Dual-link DVI-I and one Dual-link DVI-D port (plus an HDMI port and a DisplayPort).

I checked the cable listings for DVI dual link to DisplayPort and some of them claim that maximum throughput is 1920x1080. What exactly should I be looking for now?

Spoiler

I hate feeling like a bloody novice.

 

[garath]

So GTAV was crashing on me yesterday when I first started playing. I'd get anywhere from 5-10 minutes into the game and boom - game locks up and crash to desktop. Sometimes I'd get a windows memory message with it. After some investigation I was finding that the game wasn't actually using a lot of memory but windows was committing a LOT more. I was hitting my 8 gigs of RAM and it would crash. Looks like after installing my SSD, apparently I disabled the page file completely so was relying on my 8 gigs of RAM for all the system memory. Haven't had an issue up until now.

Put the page file back and the game is running without crashing. I guess this is the first game that requires more than 8gigs of system RAM. :/ I didn't have anything else running either. Just my steelseries engine for the mouse, the game and windows. Killed web browsers, geforce experience, all of it.

What's the landscape look like for 16 gigs of RAM now? I'd hesitate to buy another 2x4gig just for compatibility concerns. Is that acceptable? This is my current RAM - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820233186 . Are there any good deals on low profile 16 gigs out there? NA here. Newegg and Amazon pref. Spending a quick $55 to get another 8gigs wouldn't be bad at all but I've generally heard the safe route is getting two sticks of matched RAM over the 4 from two different kits.

My system:

i5 2500k
MSI P67A-GD65 mobo

I've seen some nice 16gig RAM deals but it's always with these giant heat spreaders that would never fit under my CM212 HSF :/

 

[Mascot]

Oh, and when are you planning to put the PC together? Latest rumors say AMD's new R9 3XX line will be launched in June, and Nvidia may counter with price drops or launching the new GTX "980 Ti" soon afterward.

Mmm... That's of interest to me too. I'm happy to keep my powder dry for another few months and see what develops.

 

[riflen]

Hmm. I am even more confused now.

The video card I have apparently has one Dual-link DVI-I and one Dual-link DVI-D port (plus an HDMI port and a DisplayPort).

I checked the cable listings for DVI dual link to DisplayPort and some of them claim that maximum throughput is 1920x1080. What exactly should I be looking for now?

Spoiler

I hate feeling like a bloody novice.

Can you post the model number of the display you'll want to use? If it supports dual-link DVI, just get a suitable cable and use that. Dual-link DVI is definitely capable of 2560x1440 at 60Hz. Some DVI > DP adapters or lesser cables might not support that, however.

 

[glaurung]

Can you post the model number of the display you'll want to use? If it supports dual-link DVI, just get a suitable cable and use that. Dual-link DVI is definitely capable of 2560x1440 at 60Hz. Some DVI > DP adapters or lesser cables might not support that, however.

It's the VP2770.

From what I can read from its detailed spec sheet, it should support Dual-link DVI as well. So I could just get a proper DVI to DisplayPort cable and go from there?

 

[riflen]

It's the VP2770.

From what I can read from its detailed spec sheet, it should support Dual-link DVI as well. So I could just get a proper DVI to DisplayPort cable and go from there?

You shouldn't need to buy an adapter or a cable. According to Viewsonic, the monitor includes a Dual-Link DVI cable. You're already driving the first QHD monitor via your 970's DP port, so just drive this second monitor via Dual-Link DVI.

 

[glaurung]

You shouldn't need to buy an adapter or a cable. According to Viewsonic, the monitor includes a Dual-Link DVI cable. You're already driving the first QHD monitor via your 970's DP port, so just drive this second monitor via Dual-Link DVI.

lol that's even easier.

Thanks mate!

Time to get my 7,372,800 pixel desktop on.

 

[riflen]

lol that's even easier.

Thanks mate!

Time to get my 7,372,800 pixel desktop on.

Enjoy.

 

[MihowZa]

So last night I posted that I got a (ASUS GTX980) and today I was surprised with a (Acer XB280HK bprz 28-inch Display Ultra HD 4K2K NVIDIA G-SYNC (3840 x 2160) Widescreen Monitor) which is probably the most expensive surprise ever. Is there anything I should know or any resource I should check out about how to get the best gaming experience possible?

(AMD FX 8350 B.E. and 8 GB of ram and a Corsair c.x. 600PSU)

 

[Mascot]

So last night I posted that I got a (ASUS GTX980) and today I was surprised with a (Acer XB280HK bprz 28-inch Display Ultra HD 4K2K NVIDIA G-SYNC (3840 x 2160) Widescreen Monitor) which is probably the most expensive surprise ever. Is there anything I should know or any resource I should check out about how to get the best gaming experience possible?

(AMD FX 8350 B.E. and 8 GB of ram and a Corsair c.x. 600PSU)

You ordered a GTX980 but they delivered a monitor by mistake..?

 

[MihowZa]

You ordered a GTX980 but they delivered a monitor by mistake..?

Ha! Oh my, no.

My parents retired and wanted to buy me something nice I would use (i'm very spartan, don't own knick knacks etc) and I said no thank you (i'm in my 30's). So they obviously went ahead and did it any way because they are parents and that's what they do. They asked a friend of mine what I would like but would never spend money on and now I'm getting a $700 monitor and i'm incredibly happily geeked about it!

 

[riflen]

So last night I posted that I got a (ASUS GTX980) and today I was surprised with a (Acer XB280HK bprz 28-inch Display Ultra HD 4K2K NVIDIA G-SYNC (3840 x 2160) Widescreen Monitor) which is probably the most expensive surprise ever. Is there anything I should know or any resource I should check out about how to get the best gaming experience possible?

(AMD FX 8350 B.E. and 8 GB of ram and a Corsair c.x. 600PSU)

I don't think there's much to know. Driver software will auto-detect and enable G-Sync functionality and default synchronisation mode for all games will be changed to G-Sync mode. Generally, it's a good idea to just check that V-Sync is disabled in the game itself once it's launched.

If you're coming from a different GPU, you might want to use DDU to first remove any other GPU drivers.

 

[Chitown B]

overclocking my 4690k to 4.4ghz without any issue, with coolermaster water cooling. It's at 57 degrees idle, which is a little high but doesn't ever have problems.

My old AMD 6800K ran cooler at idle at 4.7 or 4.8 but it was way underpowered.