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"I Need a New PC!" 2015 Part 1. Read the OP and RISE ABOVE FORGED PRECISION SCIENCE

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T

The Llama

Member
SolidsnackooFoxhound said:
Sz4T6qY.png



I'm ready to play video games now!
:(
Click to expand...

Unless you're running pretty old RAM, check to make sure you're running it at the right speed. Newer RAM is all faster than 666Mhz. It won't really make much of a difference, but it can't hurt.
 
I

ibitegirls

Member
Paznos said:
My 2405FPW 24" monitor just died, turned on my PC this morning and the monitor didn't turn on, I figured this was coming since it has been taking a long time to come out of standby mode for a while now.

Now I need a replacement I want something good but probably under $250, any suggestions?
Click to expand...

I bought this last week: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005JN9310/?tag=neogaf0e-20

Highly rated. I bought mine off of eBay so that I wouldn't get taxed (California resident). Cost was exactly $249
 
Hikami

Hikami

Member
I finally get to upgrade from this dinosaur.. can't believe I've been gaming on this for like 4+ years now.
6bb3c906ce.png
Click to expand...
My motherboard wouldn't take anything higher than a core 2 duo so I've been stuck with that for so long.. Going to try building a PC from scratch now.
Just choosing a case is giving me a hard time though lol. For some reason, having a side window really appeals to me.
I'm on a budget though so trying to find one with that for a reasonable price is giving me trouble..
 
S

SolidsnackooFoxhound

Banned
Hikami said:
I finally get to upgrade from this dinosaur.. can't believe I've been gaming on this for like 4+ years now.

My motherboard wouldn't take anything higher than a core 2 duo so I've been stuck with that for so long.. Going to try building a PC from scratch now.
Just choosing a case is giving me a hard time though lol. For some reason, having a side window really appeals to me.
I'm on a budget though so trying to find one with that for a reasonable price is giving me trouble..
Click to expand...


Just go with a fractal design case. Take a look here and see if there is anything you like.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...Define_R5_Black_Window-_-11-352-049-_-Product

Maybe you might like this case?
 
Coulomb_Barrier

Coulomb_Barrier

Member
RGM79 said:
Cases are fairly subjective - it's your choice, and all of those are very good and are well-reviewed. They are all different sizes, and I'd actually consider all of them to be some of the best cases you can get at each size level (mATX, ATX, EATX), and they all offer excellent case airflow and cooling support for radiators. It could come down to how large you want your computer case to be.

The Corsair Air 240 is the compact, unconventional choice. It can be oriented in several different ways, and offers great water cooling support for a smaller case. Not a lot of room for a conventional CPU heatsink cooler, though. If you already bought the Cooler Master Hyper 212 Evo, cross this off your list as it will not fit in this case. You would also need to consider a smaller mATX motherboard instead of the Gigabyte GA-Z97X-SLI motherboard you had in mind.

The Define R4 is a decent mid tower sound absorbing ATX case. The even better Fractal Define R5 is now available, £80 for the regular version and £90 for the windowed version. It features a wealth of improvements over the R4 like reversible/removable front door, and a modular interior (removable drive cages). I'd recommend the R5 over the R4 if it's in your budget.

The Phanteks Enthoo Pro is a very affordable but nonetheless premium full tower ATX case. Doesn't cost much more than the Fractal Define R5. Lots of room to accommodate just about anything you could put in it, and well-thought design and extras like velcro and plastic cable tie management, plastic screw holder case with extra long screws for water cooling, and a fan hub cable to let all the fans be controlled at the same speed.
Click to expand...

A belated thanks for this, great advice and useful for any guys on here looking at getting a top case in a mid-range price bracket.

Currently tossing up between Fractal Define R5 and Enthoo Pro.
 
Coulomb_Barrier

Coulomb_Barrier

Member
FillerB said:
R/microsoftsoftwareswap ?
Click to expand...

Thanks, although I'm in the UK, I never considered something like this. Maybe they do a similar scheme here.

Also, I'm hearing rumours that Windows 10 is going to be free. And that is coming shortly, so I would bear that in mind if you are considering your new PC's OS.

I assume W10, if it is free, will be a free upgrade from Windows 8 for select users.

Anyone got the skinny on this?
 
V

veloxStrix

Banned
I'm looking for a PC build somewhere in the $1000 dollar range (I already have a Case- New Soprano by Thermaltake and a PSU- Corsair 750W and the.. OS... >.>) with a focus on being able to put a decent chunk more into it within the next couple years. I have some ideas, but would like a second opinion from more experienced builders. I tend to go overboard on stuff.


How does everyone feel about Steam OS? Is it based on Unix? How does that affect game availability and quality?
 
K

kharma45

Member
Coulomb_Barrier said:
Thanks, although I'm in the UK, I never considered something like this. Maybe they do a similar scheme here.

Also, I'm hearing rumours that Windows 10 is going to be free. And that is coming shortly, so I would bear that in mind if you are considering your new PC's OS.

I assume W10, if it is free, will be a free upgrade from Windows 8 for select users.

Anyone got the skinny on this?
Click to expand...

There have been rumours 10 will be a free upgrade from 8.1 but they're purely rumours and nothing more.

That subreddit is handy, and there is someone on GAF who sells them in the BST thread. Some people can get it cheap/free through work and university too.

veloxStrix said:
I'm looking for a PC build somewhere in the $1000 dollar range (I already have a Case- New Soprano by Thermaltake and a PSU- Corsair 750W and the.. OS... >.>) with a focus on being able to put a decent chunk more into it within the next couple years. I have some ideas, but would like a second opinion from more experienced builders. I tend to go overboard on stuff.


How does everyone feel about Steam OS? Is it based on Unix? How does that affect game availability and quality?
Click to expand...

SteamOS has never, and I don't think will ever, take off. Stick to Windows.
 
K

Kayant

Member
Ok so I have had about 2 or so complete freezes since I setup my PC. What can I do to see what is causing the freezes?

CPU - i5 4690k
Cooler - Hyper Evo 212
PSU - Corsair CX600M
Motherboard - Gigabyte z97-mx-gaming-5
Ram - HyperX FURY 8GB 1866Mhz

Thanks for the help.
 
R

RGM79

Member
OrlanisWorks said:
An OCZ Stealth Steam 2 600w psu

http://www.kitguru.net/components/p...z-stealthxstream-2-600-w-power-supply-review/

It's years old, so I got a feeling adapters may not be available for this thing. Thanks for tropes and sorry for the obscenities.
Click to expand...
Wait, are you sure that's your power supply? According to official specs and the Kitguru review, it has an 6 pin and 6+2 pin graphics card power cables. That should work for your new graphics card. You won't need adaptors.
 
H

Helmholtz

Member
Hey guys, I just bought a R9 290 gpu and only now noticed it says it needs a 750w power supply on the back of the box.
My PSU is 650w. Am I out of luck?
 
L

LilJoka

Member
Kayant said:
Ok so I have had about 2 or so complete freezes since I setup my PC. What can I do to see what is causing the freezes?

CPU - i5 4690k
Cooler - Hyper Evo 212
PSU - Corsair CX600M
Motherboard - Gigabyte z97-mx-gaming-5
Ram - HyperX FURY 8GB 1866Mhz

Thanks for the help.
Click to expand...

Check the event viewer in windows to start with.
Do you get a BSOD or just a hard lock which forces you to reboot the PC from the switch?
Does it happen when idle or gaming? Or both?
Check CPU temperature with HWMonitor/Realtemp.
 
O

OrlanisWorks

Banned
RGM79 said:
Wait, are you sure that's your power supply? According to official specs and the Kitguru review, it has an 6 pin and 6+2 pin graphics card power cables. That should work for your new graphics card. You won't need adaptors.
Click to expand...

Maybe I found the wrong one. If so, sorry about that. It is definitely an OCZ StealthXStream 600w. I'll look at it again when I get home since I need to check if the adapters provided with the GPU would work anyway. My bag.
 
L

LilJoka

Member
OrlanisWorks said:
Maybe I found the wrong one. If so, sorry about that. It is definitely an OCZ StealthXStream 600w. I'll look at it again when I get home since I need to check if the adapters provided with the GPU would work anyway. My bag.
Click to expand...

Definatly should have the right connectors for your GPU. PSUs work on ATX standard, they haven't changed in ages.
 
K

Kayant

Member
LilJoka said:
Check the event viewer in windows to start with.
Do you get a BSOD or just a hard lock which forces you to reboot the PC from the switch?
Does it happen when idle or gaming? Or both?
Check CPU temperature with HWMonitor/Realtemp.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the help.

Will look at the logs in event viewer

Hard locks that required a reboot.
Idle haven't really done any gaming yet :p
Waiting for my msi gtx 970 to arrive Monday :)
CPU temps seems fine about 30C
 
H

Helmholtz

Member
The Llama said:
You'll be fine, don't worry. They always exaggerate power supply requirements.
Click to expand...
Okay I guess I'll give it a shot.
To be more specific, my PSU is a coursair tx650w, and the card is a club 3d r9 290
I'm going to be running an i7 4790k, 8gb 1600 mhz ram, one 1.5tb drive, one 500gb drive, and one 240gb ssd. My case is a HAF 932 full tower.
The 650w will be able to cope with this?
 
H

Helmholtz

Member
LilJoka said:
It's fine I run a lot more on the same PSU.
Click to expand...
The Llama said:
That'll work fine with it. Really, don't worry. They just use "worst case scenario" requirements, like if you're running 10 hard drives and a dozen case fans, etc.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the replies. I added my complete specs to my last post. Do you think I might need to cut a hard drive or the even my dvd drive to conserve some power? Or should the 650w be able to accommodate all of that?
 
R

ricki42

Member
veloxStrix said:
How does everyone feel about Steam OS? Is it based on Unix? How does that affect game availability and quality?
Click to expand...

It's based on Debian Linux. You can check the game availability easily on Steam, if there's a penguin icon it's on Linux. You can also under 'Games' select 'SteamOS + Linux' , there are currently 1605 Linux games on steam according to that page, and 165 on gog.com (some overlap of course). I guess the game quality is as mixed as anywhere, but you won't find many AAA games if that's what you mean.
Depending on what you want to do with your PC, I wouldn't go SteamOS though and rather go with one of the mainstream Linux distros, they have larger communities and SteamOS is still in beta. I'm using Fedora and Xubuntu, Mint also seems very popular these days. If you are curious, just give any of these a try, the nice thing about Linux is that you have plenty of choices and it costs you nothing.
 
R

Random17

Member
I currently have an LG 22MP55 screen; and while it is supposedly a 1080p native screen, it offers a weird 2715x1527 resolution.

Any idea if this is normal?
 
T

TMC

Member
Helmholtz said:
Hey guys, I just bought a R9 290 gpu and only now noticed it says it needs a 750w power supply on the back of the box.
My PSU is 650w. Am I out of luck?
Click to expand...

Just got an R9 290 GPU also and running on an XFX 550W PSU (After hearing from other users that a 550W PSU was fine for an R9 290). Running a i7-4790s, 16GB RAM, 500GB SSD, 1TB HDD, and a Blu ray drive. No problems here so far. You will be fine.
 
Z

zoozilla

Member
I was looking at R9 270x cards when I saw this R9 280 for $180 ($150 with rebate). Seems like a good price, but for a modest system with only an FX-6350 to power it, would this be overkill, or is it always better to get a more powerful card?
 
K

kennah

Member
zoozilla said:
I was looking at R9 270x cards when I saw this R9 280 for $180 ($150 with rebate). Seems like a good price, but for a modest system with only an FX-6350 to power it, would this be overkill, or is it always better to get a more powerful card?
Click to expand...
GPU limited stuff will perform better. CPU limited stuff won't. Bottlenecking is a myth.
 
C

Cannon Goose

Member
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.
 
H

Helmholtz

Member
TMC said:
Just got an R9 290 GPU also and running on an XFX 550W PSU (After hearing from other users that a 550W PSU was fine for an R9 290). Running a i7-4790s, 16GB RAM, 500GB SSD, 1TB HDD, and a Blu ray drive. No problems here so far. You will be fine.
Click to expand...
Went ahead and built it, so far so good! Thanks for the responses guys. Guess I was getting worried over nothing :p
Feels good to have a PC that's currently pretty up to date.
 
R

RGM79

Member
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.
Click to expand...

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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