HolyBaikal said:

http://pcpartpicker.com/part/amd-cpu-ad785kxbjabox

This is the CPU I want. It's an FM2+.
It looks like I can get it cheaper than on Newegg. So thank you again everyone!

Edit: I kind of also want to get this one, too.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA30R2AW1855

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HolyBaikal said:

Multitasking. Maybe some things like that.

I was kind of hoping to use it to help me play more MMORPGs at the same like. Like maybe Tera.

I know it wouldn't be the best, but I like collecting computers n' things.

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RGM79 said:

Here's my version of your build. Saved $206 on the motherboard, RAM, graphics card, case, and power supply.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($299.00 @ CPL Online)
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-D14 65.0 CFM CPU Cooler (Purchased For $0.00)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z97X-SLI ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($170.00 @ CPL Online)
Memory: Kingston Fury Black Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($189.00 @ PLE Computers)
Storage: Crucial MX100 256GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($139.00 @ PCCaseGear)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($61.00 @ Centre Com)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 970 4GB Superclocked ACX Video Card ($479.00 @ CPL Online)
Case: Cooler Master N300 ATX Mid Tower Case ($48.00 @ IJK)
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA NEX750B BRONZE 750W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($98.00 @ CPL Online)
Total: $1483.00
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-12-28 20:35 EST+1100

For gaming at 1440p, a single GTX 970 could do, but I'd recommend SLI GTX 970 over the GTX 980. The slight performance increase of the GTX 980 is not worth the difference. Now that your build costs only $1483 AUD, you may want to add a second EVGA GTX 970 for $479.

That Kingston RAM is low enough to fit under the Noctua NH-D14. It seems to only protrude a few millimetres above the bare circuit board. Noctua's website has helpful compatibility lists - the Noctua NH-D14, Gigabyte Z97X-SLI, and Kingston HyperX Fury RAM are all compatible, according to these two references:

http://www.noctua.at/main.php?show=compatibility_gen&products_id=34&lng=en#LGA1150_Gigabyte
http://www.noctua.at/main.php?show=compatibility_ram_gen&products_id=34&lng=en#DDR3_Kingston

And according to the official Kingston HyperX Fury datasheet, the RAM modules measure 33mm high, while the Noctua NH-D14 appears to allow about 40mm of clearance under the fan.

http://media.kingston.com/pdfs/HyperX_FURY_EN.pdf
www.noctua.at/pdf/infosheets/noctua_nh_d14_datasheet_en.pdf

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Cannon Goose said:

Hello GAF PC thread, it's been a while since I've been in here! In the new year I am going to build myself a brand new boss-hog PC from the ground up and I'll need some input as to what I should get. My first PC build a few years back was very limited due to budget but this time there's really no limit, so I'd like to go as powerful as I can within reason.

I'll run through the OP's pre-requisite list first:
Your Current Specs: i5-2320 (no K), GTX 670 2GB, 8GB 1333Mhz RAM -- This PC has been very good to me but I would like to get something I can overclock and better utilise my 1440p monitor.
Budget: $1500-2000 and I'm in Australia.
Main Use: Gaming 5, general usage 4, and some video encoding (not editing).
Monitor Resolution: 1440p. I got this monitor not too long ago so I will continue to use it with the new PC.
List SPECIFIC games or applications that you MUST be able to run well: This monitor can go higher than 60hz, so I might be interested in doing that in the future. For the most part I don't think I'll be going higher than 60hz. As long as the frame rate is above 30 I'm fine, but a solid 60 is always preferred.
Looking to reuse any parts?: I am reusing my CPU cooler (Noctua NH-D14), monitor (QNIX QX2710), keyboard and mouse (Logitech K200 and SteelSeries Rival), my internal DVD and Blu-ray drives (Samsung SH-222BB and LG BH16NS40), and I have a Windows 8 key.
When will you build?: It would be nice if it could all be done during January.
Will you be overclocking?: Yes, I am interested in overclocking.

I basically went with the 'enthusiast' build in the OP and am wondering if I should go for a 980 over the 970. The price increase is kind of crazy ($1700 to $2000) but would it be worth it at 1440p? Also, is this RAM truly low profile? I can't seem to find any 16GB kits that don't have some kind of heat sink on them.

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LilJoka said:

If you have a Z series motherboard, I would get a 3770k 2nd hand, an SSD, and GTX 970. Can upgrade ram if you like to some 8gb 1600/1866 kit.

Otherwise
Corsair 350D
Gigabyte Z97 Gaming mATX
i5 4670k/i7 4790k
MSI GTX 970 Gamer (quieter than Windforce)
8/16Gb 1600/1866 Ram
1/2TB Toshiba ACA
Crucial MX100 128/256Gb
Seasonic G550 PSU

Click to expand...

CPU: NEW! AMD Phenom II X6 1055T Included
Operating System: Microsoft® Windows 7 Home Included
Premium 64-bit
Motherboard: NEW! Asus M4A87TD USB3 Included
Memory: 8GB DDR3 1333mhz (4x 2GB) Included
Hard Drives: 1TB S-ATAII 3.0Gb/s Included
Optical Drive: 22x DVD±RW DL S-ATA Included
Graphics card: ATI Radeon HD 5850 1GB Included
Sound card: Onboard 7.1 Audio Included
Internet: Wireless 802.11G PCI card £10.99
Keyboard and mouse: Keyboard, mouse and speakers £12.19
Accessories: DVI to HDMI cable £8.09
Case: Xigmatek Asgard Included
PSU: 700W OCZ £33.90

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Cannon Goose said:

Thanks for the input and clearing up my RAM question. As for SLI, I should have mentioned that I am not interested in an SLI system because of the potential lack of effective SLI profiles and supposed microstutter issues.

The new RAM, power supply and motherboard you chose seem fine, but I'm not sure about the GPU and case. Would the EVGA card be as quiet as my current 670 Windforce? The main reason I chose the 970 Windforce is because I was so impressed with how silent my current card is. The concern I have about the case is that it's the same size as the one I have now (CoolerMaster Elite 334U) and I had a really hard time installing my Noctua cooler in that thing. The Noctua site said it was compatible (and it was, I guess) but it just barely fit. Ideally I would like to get a roomier case just so I don't have to worry about that again.

One last thing to do with the actual purchasing of the parts. I would prefer to buy all my parts from the same shop so I can minimise any staggered shipping or other problems that may crop up from dealing with online stores I've never used before. However, if any other Australian users can vouch for the places that PC Part Picker uses then I would be a bit more comfortable buying the parts from multiple stores. I've only used MSY (local) and PC Case Gear in the past.

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Krappadizzle said:

I've bought two copies of Win 8 on the B/S/T thread. Both worked fine for my wife and I.

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Coulomb_Barrier said:

Thanks but can you post a link to this thread?

I'm based in the UK and I'm thinking of getting Windows 7 for £35 off Ebay, then upgrading to W8 or W10 in a couple months when my wallet has recovered (as the build I am making is going to stretch my budget to the limit!).

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Cannon Goose said:

No Z series motherboard here unfortunately, but this other build you've proposed looks great, especially that case. Everything's available at my preferred vendor too. How does this look?

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Schlocky said:

hi gaf! can anyone tell me the cheapest graphics card I can get that will output video and audio over hdmi, and be good enough to work as a Steam streaming client? is any old rubbish going to do the job? Cheers!

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Idba said:

The newest intel NUC

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Schlocky said:

i have the pc already, its just a graphics card i need (sick of seperate audio out from the motherboard). wish i had waited for the NUC, though.

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RGM79 said:

I don't know about collecting, but considering value and price-to-performance the A10-6800K isn't worth it. For Newegg's price of $180 it's disgustingly overpriced, it's available elsewhere for $120. Considering the performance, It's only slightly better than the A8-6600K, and that APU costs only $90, half of the Newegg price.

I'm not sure what your budget is, but you can pick up an Intel i5 4460 quad core for $180 and it will be much stronger than APU systems for gaming and multi-tasking.

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ArcticDonkey said:

Howdy gents. After a year on the rig I had built last year, I decided I want upgrade the GPU to this fancy GTX 970 that's all the rage. This will be my first time changing any parts so I was wondering if I could get some advice.

My current PC:
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD FX-6350 3.9GHz 6-Core Processor ($114.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Asus M5A97 LE R2.0 ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($68.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: Kingston HyperX 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($87.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Storage: Toshiba 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($53.98 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Asus Radeon R9 270X 2GB DirectCU II Video Card ($168.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: Zalman Z11 Plus ATX Mid Tower Case ($57.98 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair CSM 450W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($26.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($88.98 @ OutletPC)

Could someone tell me if there will be any issues swapping the video cards? I'm expecting I'll have to get a new power supply alongside the 970.

Will I be significantly bottlenecked with my CPU?

Lastly, what's the next upgrade you would recommend, SSD or better CPU?

Thanks guys, any help is much appreciated.

Click to expand...

Assuming the GPU isn't being bottlenecked by the CPU, the GTX 970 is more than enough to attain 60 frames per second.

Click to expand...

However, the FX-6300 here is only capable of an average framerate of 43 frames per second, even when paired with the stronger GTX 980.

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Moldiver said:

Buying some parts for my new build and I'm stuck on what ram to get, clock speeds are lost to me. With the black and red case I would like to keep everything else black and red.

what I've got so far

Intel Core i7-4790K 4.00GHz (Devil's Canyon)
Asus Vii Hero
NZXT H440
Needed 16Gb ram

Once i decide on ram I can move on with cooling and more ssd's

also would buying two 512 ssd's and sticking them in Raid 0 be worth it?

Click to expand...

Moldiver said:

Buying some parts for my new build and I'm stuck on what ram to get, clock speeds are lost to me. With the black and red case I would like to keep everything else black and red.

what I've got so far

Intel Core i7-4790K 4.00GHz (Devil's Canyon)
Asus Vii Hero
NZXT H440
Needed 16Gb ram

Once i decide on ram I can move on with cooling and more ssd's

Click to expand...

RGM79 said:

How much do you have to spend? A new power supply and GTX 970 will run about $400, maybe less. You can get the EVGA 600B power supply for $20 after $20 rebate at NCIXUS - it's a decent power supply and will handle just about any single graphics card easily, including the GTX 970. If your case can fit it, NCIXUS also has the Gigabyte Windforce GTX 970 for $330 after $10 rebate. However, it's an extremely long card (312mm) and might not fit. The MSI GTX 970 Gaming is $340, that's your next best deal and is a more manageable 270mm length.

Bottlenecking depends on what games you play - some games have framerate limited by CPU, others more limited by GPU. For example, refer to these two below graphs for MGS Ground Zeroes. I know the example isn't perfect, but it is close enough.




I'd recommend a better CPU over getting an SSD. While an SSD can make the OS feel more responsive, it doesn't affect anything much other than load times - you won't get better framerate with an SSD. However, if you were to upgrade to a better CPU for your current motherboard, not even the FX-83XX CPUs are good enough for 60 frames per second in quite a lot of games, so for better gaming in the future, you should aim for Intel. Your current motherboard is basically EOL - it's still being sold, but AMD has no plans for future processor upgrades for that motherboard.

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ArcticDonkey said:

Thanks a bunch for the helpful input.

I always planned on getting an intel CPU eventually. It all comes down to money though. I'm in Ireland and there is a hefty premium on PC parts. I'd be looking at €360 (roughly $440) alone just for the 970. I am willing to spend that much as well as the power supply but it wont be until around June that I'll be putting in a new motherboard and CPU.

So what you're telling me is basically, a 970 will perform a fair bit better but will be held back a fair bit when it comes to CPU intensive games? And I guess I should move the SSD to the bottom of my scheduled upgrade list for this year.

Appreciate it

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Easy_D said:

Guys, let's say I'm not expecting to push 60 FPS in Ground Zeroes, in fact I'd settle with 30, would the FX-6300 be OK? I can get one+mobo+high speed ram for not much money.

I'm not considering this an upgrade, my motherboard went up and died yesterday so I figured I'd at least get myself a quadcore when I have to replace it.

I looked at some videos and it seems to run BF3 at pretty great framerates compared to the 22-30 average I get with my old C2D ;P.

So again to clarify, I don't consider this as much as a beefy upgrade as much as a stopgap until I find myself a proper job and a steady income.
As far as I can tell with my HD5870 there wouldn't be much bottlenecking going on either.

Edit: So like, I expect late last gen games to run pretty great on the thing, and I'm very much aware that I'll have to sacrifice a bunch of stuff to get games like Ground Zeroes to run at acceptable framerates. That's pretty much what I've been doing for the past few years with the E8500 :lol.

And for a bit more info:

Corsair 4GB (2 X 2GB) DDR3 1333MHz
Asus M5A97 970 R2.0
AMD FX-6300 6-Core @ 3.5 Ghz (3 physical cores)

From various forum posts I've read this particular CPU/Mobo combo can safely and easily overclock to 4.2-4.5 Ghz (varying between individual cpus)

So that package for about 19-20 Euros. It's about as high I can go, really and it'll be a decent boost from my currently (broken) setup.

Click to expand...

RGM79 said:

Sorry about assuming you were in the US. Most people who don't mention their nation in this thread are probably looking to buy parts from the USA, so I assumed you were.

Wait until you have the money before looking at prices, there's always the chance that graphics cards and power supplies will drop in price. AMD's new flagship models are expected to launch by the middle of 2015, so there might be some competition to drive prices down a bit. A cheaper alternative might be the AMD R9 290. The price could be somewhat lower while offering ~90% of the performance of the GTX 970.

The FX-6350 isn't awful, but it would hold back the GTX 970 a bit. If you're interested in as much framerate performance you can get for the money, then yes, an SSD would be low on the list of upgrades to get, as it only really improves loading times.



How much do you have to spend and where are you buying? 19-20 euros, that doesn't sound right? Overclocking is possible, but you'll need a decent CPU cooler, the stock cooler won't cut it.

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Azure Dream said:

This might sound silly, but I'm seeing conflicting answers on The Googles, and so I thought I'd ask here.

For Christmas, I wishlisted on Amazon a 2x4GB set of RAM for my Windows 7 64 Bit PC (specifically), to pad the 8 GB already in there (Samsung 2x4GB). A relatively kindly got it for me, but before I opened it, I realized they got me 1x8GB instead.

My original plan was to move my Samsung memory to the second pair of slots, and use the first pair with the new memory. I assume I'd still do this so the system ran on the faster new memory first. Can I have a single stick in one pair of slots, and the 2 sticks in the other pair? Will that cause speed issues? Should I return the 1x8 stick to get 2x4?

Bonus question: Even if I get the 2x4 GB, will the slightly slower Samsung sticks slow down the G.Skill? I doubt I'll notice the difference, but I saw some hints of that, and I'm curious. Or does that only happen when you try to use two different memory types as a pair?

Click to expand...

Azure Dream said:

This might sound silly, but I'm seeing conflicting answers on The Googles, and so I thought I'd ask here.

For Christmas, I wishlisted on Amazon a 2x4GB set of RAM for my Windows 7 64 Bit PC (specifically), to pad the 8 GB already in there (Samsung 2x4GB). A relatively kindly got it for me, but before I opened it, I realized they got me 1x8GB instead.

My original plan was to move my Samsung memory to the second pair of slots, and use the first pair with the new memory. I assume I'd still do this so the system ran on the faster new memory first. Can I have a single stick in one pair of slots, and the 2 sticks in the other pair? Will that cause speed issues? Should I return the 1x8 stick to get 2x4?

Bonus question: Even if I get the 2x4 GB, will the slightly slower Samsung sticks slow down the G.Skill? I doubt I'll notice the difference, but I saw some hints of that, and I'm curious. Or does that only happen when you try to use two different memory types as a pair?

Click to expand...

knitoe said:

Most likely you are running dual channel. This, need to use ram sticks in pairs. If you run odd amount, you memory bandwidth will be cut in half. So, best to run them in even numbers.

And, if the ram are different specs, you need to make sure they run at the slowest ram specs in the Bios.

Click to expand...

nasty mcpain said:

Hi I've been reading this thread for a while and finally decided to try and make a list.
This will be my first gaming pc. I'd appreciate any feed back on what could be changed to improve it whilst staying under £1000. I plan to buy the parts within the next few weeks unless there's anything coming up I should be waiting for?
I'd be playing at 1080p and would like to run skyrim with mods and hopefully any new games this year such as the witcher 3,
I'm in the UK and plan to buy all the parts online.
This will be used in the bedroom hence the reason I picked the fractal R5

Here's what I came up with so far.
[PCPartPicker part list](http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/MmLY8d) / [Price breakdown by merchant](http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/MmLY8d/by_merchant/)

Thank in advance

Click to expand...

The Judge said:

So I'm building right now my first gaming PC. I've been reading a lot here lately (because I'm completely new to this) and came up with a build that I would like you guys opinions.

First, the basic questions:

Your Current Specs: Macbook Pro from 2011. Also known as, not really a decent gaming machine.
Budget: Country is Brazil, so giving a price range won't really help much. Using PCPartPicker gave me around 1300 USD, which I find a comfortable range. Would prefer a bit less, but I'm okay with it.
Main Use: 5 Gaming, and preferably at high specs on recent games. 4 Emulation such as Dolphin is also an interest. 3 General use for work also (heavy Excel use). 2 Music editing software.
Monitor Resolution: I plan on hooking the machine up to my tv (47"). I presume at this size, 1080p would be the minimum acceptable (tv is about 5 feet from the sofa).
List SPECIFIC games or applications that you MUST be able to run well: I would like 60FPS on new releases, but 30 is acceptable for really demanding games. I have no idea what PhysX or CUDA mean.
Looking to reuse any parts?: Nope.
When will you build?: Still in January.
Will you be overclocking?: No.
Other relevant issues: I will be getting a wireless keyboard, mouse and headphones, so bluetooth is sort of a necessity.

After researching some I got that narrowed down. Im pretty satisfied with the Intel Core i7 4790 and the GTX 970 settled down, but if you guys have better suggestions I'm all ears. The case is just there as a set-up, not decided if I'll go with that one. Same with motherboard.


PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

All help is appreciated, thanks!

Click to expand...

Azure Dream said:

This might sound silly, but I'm seeing conflicting answers on The Googles, and so I thought I'd ask here.

For Christmas, I wishlisted on Amazon a 2x4GB set of RAM for my Windows 7 64 Bit PC (specifically), to pad the 8 GB already in there (Samsung 2x4GB). A relatively kindly got it for me, but before I opened it, I realized they got me 1x8GB instead.

My original plan was to move my Samsung memory to the second pair of slots, and use the first pair with the new memory. I assume I'd still do this so the system ran on the faster new memory first. Can I have a single stick in one pair of slots, and the 2 sticks in the other pair? Will that cause speed issues? Should I return the 1x8 stick to get 2x4?

Bonus question: Even if I get the 2x4 GB, will the slightly slower Samsung sticks slow down the G.Skill? I doubt I'll notice the difference, but I saw some hints of that, and I'm curious. Or does that only happen when you try to use two different memory types as a pair?

Click to expand...

Qwyjibo said:

I posted this on Reddit as well but wondering if I could get some opinions on here:

I bought a PC in July-2010 from NCIX here in Canada (parts+assembly). I'm totally out of the loop in terms of how things work together these days. I've been thrilled with the system and the only change I've made since was increasing the RAM to 8 GB. I want to be able to play games at reasonably high quality levels and am finally noticing drops in that with recent games where I have to change many settings to "medium" levels.

1) Does it make sense/is it a good value to simply upgrade my GPU and leave everything else intact? Will I be limited by my CPU? If so, any specific features/cards that I should be looking at?

2) What kind of other things do I need to worry about? Power supply? Would I need extra cooling for a new GPU? Will some of these recent behemoths even fit in my case?

My current PC:
Intel Core i5 750
Gigabyte P55A-UD3
XFX Radeon HD 5850
G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800)
Antec Earthwatts 750W Modular Power Supply
Coolermaster CM 690 II Advanced ATX case

I don't have a set budget but I doubt I'd want to spend more than $400 total. But again, I'm not sure what would be a good value (if anything). I appreciate any advice or suggestions. Thanks.

Click to expand...

kennah said:

You'll be a little limited by the CPU. But would see a substantial improvement from an upgraded gpu. Your power supply is fine. The 970 can be found in. Canada for under 400 finally. Check the last couple pages of the Canada thread for links

Click to expand...

Is that $400 budget including tax?

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Qwyjibo said:

Ideally I'd like to stay below that in total but that's really just an arbitrary number I picked. If it turns out that the best value card for me ends up being $415 or 420 total... well then sure. I won't let that stop me.

Thanks for all the suggestions so far.

Click to expand...

Pandemic said:

I thought it'd probably time to clean the inside of my year old yet expensive PC before it explodes... Should I just use canned air, a small paint brush, a screw driver, microfibre cloth, anything else??

Should that suffice?

Cheers!

Click to expand...

RGM79 said:

16GB G.Skill Sniper DDR3-1866 for $143

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stanley1993 said:

I don't know if this thread is also a laptop thread but I need help with finding the right laptop for my needs. The laptop is going to be used mainly for the internet and business applications. I want the fastest laptop for my budget price
Budget: $600
HDD: want SSD
Resolution: want 1080p (~14-15 inch screen~)
Can anybody help?

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demolitio said:

So my motherboard has been acting up after installing my 970 (can't access bios, takes a long time to boot, corrupted windows, etc. so I'm assuming that would be a mobo issue). I was lucky just to get the 970 so is there a motherboard that's cheap but decent enough to replace my current one? I have an i5 2500k and the 970.

Just sucks that a joint Christmas present with some of my own money ends up setting me back more than anything else...lol

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Finalizer said:

Newegg's got the 16GB DDR3-2400 kit for $129. Just picked 'em up for my own system.

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