The manual for the Asrock board plainly states that if you only have 2 Dimms you have to put them in certain slots to work, that is different from some other boards I have but in no way a serious limitation unless aesthetically you have to have your ram in certain slots. So my guess is a lot of people don't even read the manual and just assume they know what they are doing and don't RTFM. Working in tech support I can understand the manufacturers frustration sometimes.
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"I need a New PC!" 2012 Thread. 22nm+28nm, Tri-Gate, and reading the OP. [Part 1]
- Thread starter Hazaro
- Start date
- Status
The manual for the Asrock board plainly states that if you only have 2 Dimms you have to put them in certain slots to work, that is different from some other boards I have but in no way a serious limitation unless aesthetically you have to have your ram in certain slots. So my guess is a lot of people don't even read the manual and just assume they know what they are doing and don't RTFM. Working in tech support I can understand the manufacturers frustration sometimes.
Ah. Yeah. If that's what they're talking about, then duh. Call me a nerd, but I always RTFM on those things. So if they're there, I'll follow the directions for it.
Your Current Specs: None. I'm building my first computer.
Budget: < $1000
Main Use: General Usage (5), Emulation [Saturn/Dreamcast/Wii/PS2] (4)
Monitor Resolution: Not sure yet.
When will you build?: Preferrably before July.
Will you be overclocking?: Yes
Anything that can be upgraded later can wait. I need to know which parts are most important not to skimp on.
Here's my build. It was quick and dirty, so if there are better suggestions, please let me know.
CPU: Intel Core i5-2500K 3.3GHz Quad-Core Processor ($179.99 @ Microcenter)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($33.99 @ Mac Mall)
Motherboard: Asus P8Z68-V/GEN3 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($184.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: Corsair XMS3 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1333 Memory ($29.99 @ NCIX US)
Hard Drive: Crucial M4 128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($164.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: Antec 550W ATX12V Power Supply ($65.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($31.97 @ Newegg)
Monitor: Acer G235HAbd 23.0" Monitor ($158.98 @ Newegg)
Total: $850.88
Budget: < $1000
Main Use: General Usage (5), Emulation [Saturn/Dreamcast/Wii/PS2] (4)
Monitor Resolution: Not sure yet.
When will you build?: Preferrably before July.
Will you be overclocking?: Yes
Anything that can be upgraded later can wait. I need to know which parts are most important not to skimp on.
Here's my build. It was quick and dirty, so if there are better suggestions, please let me know.
CPU: Intel Core i5-2500K 3.3GHz Quad-Core Processor ($179.99 @ Microcenter)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($33.99 @ Mac Mall)
Motherboard: Asus P8Z68-V/GEN3 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($184.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: Corsair XMS3 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1333 Memory ($29.99 @ NCIX US)
Hard Drive: Crucial M4 128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($164.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: Antec 550W ATX12V Power Supply ($65.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($31.97 @ Newegg)
Monitor: Acer G235HAbd 23.0" Monitor ($158.98 @ Newegg)
Total: $850.88
Thanks!
Just want to follow up on this discovery. If you have a board as old as ICH7 to ICH9R (and maybe 10), you probably want to read on how to update the AHCI module and the RAID ROM on your board or check the OCZ thread if someone made a custom BIOS that does that. This is if you want to use a SandForce drive on an old motherboard.
OCZ Thread: http://www.ocztechnologyforum.com/f...S-files-with-updated-Intel-ICH9-10R-RAID-ROMs
The BIOS mod site is in German, so you may need a tool or browser that can translate languages.
How to mod BIOS
AHCI module and RAID ROM Download
Rapid Storage Tech Drivers
Going to try this out tonight assuming I understand the whole procedure.
Hello PC-Gaf,
I fairly new to Gaf in general and PC building so please bear with me.
First thing, I view PCs as more of a long term investment of which I know is wrong yet still do, so the PC that I'm planning for I hope will still be fairly capable 4-5 years down the line.
My current PC was bought in I would say early 2000s so I finally decided and to purchase new one as I had previously bought a Macbook and spent most of my time + money on that instead of upgrading/buying a new PC.
In following the first post:
# My Current Specs:
# Main Use:
# Are reusing any parts?: Keyboard and mouse.
# When will you build?: Next week.
# Will you be overclocking?: No
At the moment, I'm mixing some of the parts listed in Hazaro's Enhanced and Standard PC build.
Are there any lesser components that I can get to decrease costs but will still be fairly capable 4-5 years down the line, or am I contradicting myself in budgeting a 1k computer for something that can still hold its own later?
Will it be necessary to purchase the optional Heatsink? The sound card seems to me more of a preference for audio lovers so I'd probably don't require it but if it adds something substantial to the gaming/video/music experience, I'm all ears.
Thanks for reading to the end, cheers.
I fairly new to Gaf in general and PC building so please bear with me.
First thing, I view PCs as more of a long term investment of which I know is wrong yet still do, so the PC that I'm planning for I hope will still be fairly capable 4-5 years down the line.
My current PC was bought in I would say early 2000s so I finally decided and to purchase new one as I had previously bought a Macbook and spent most of my time + money on that instead of upgrading/buying a new PC.
In following the first post:
# My Current Specs:
- CPU: Intel P4 CPU 2.40GHz
- RAM: DDR
- Motherboard: Intel i865P/PE/G/i848P
- GPU: Integrated Nvidia GeForce4 MX 440 with AGP8X
# Main Use:
- general usage (Word, Web, 1080p playback), 5
- Adobe Illustrator/Photoshop/Indesign, 5
- Gaming, 4
- 3D work, 4
- Emulation (PS2/Wii), 2
- Video Editing, 1
- What resolution will you be playing your games at? 1920x1080.
- Are you going to upgrade later? No.
- Are you buying a new monitor? Yes, Asus VH236H
# Are reusing any parts?: Keyboard and mouse.
# When will you build?: Next week.
# Will you be overclocking?: No
At the moment, I'm mixing some of the parts listed in Hazaro's Enhanced and Standard PC build.
- CPU: Intel i5 2500K 4C/4T 3.7Ghz Turbo
- Motherboard: MSI Z68A-G43
- RAM: CORSAIR CMV8GX3M2A1333C9
- Graphics: HIS H687FN1GD Radeon HD 6870 1GB
- Storage: SAMSUNG EcoGreen F4 HD204UI 2TB
- Power Supply: Antec BP550 Plus 550W
- Case: Rosewill Blackbone
- Optical Drive: ASUS 24X
- Monitor: Asus VH236H
Are there any lesser components that I can get to decrease costs but will still be fairly capable 4-5 years down the line, or am I contradicting myself in budgeting a 1k computer for something that can still hold its own later?
Will it be necessary to purchase the optional Heatsink? The sound card seems to me more of a preference for audio lovers so I'd probably don't require it but if it adds something substantial to the gaming/video/music experience, I'm all ears.
Thanks for reading to the end, cheers.
Check ncix every week they have great deals on monitors memory and sometimes GPUs
Is there a program to test the health of SSDs out there? Last morning I tried turning on my PC but was greeted with a screen saying "Error loading operating system". I've never seen an error screen like that before and I have no idea if it's due to failing hardware or what. I installed Windows on an old HDD now and I tried plugging the SSD into an external SATA port but I can't access the drive and it says it needs to be formatted.
Any help with this would be greatly appreciated. The drive is a 120 GB Intel 510 SSD if that makes any difference.
Any help with this would be greatly appreciated. The drive is a 120 GB Intel 510 SSD if that makes any difference.
Need to upgrade? I highly doubt it. SB is a fantastic CPU and Kepler should be at least on par with 7xxx series if not better.
I'd get something other than the BP550. It's still a good buy, but I'd personally get a better non-modular PSU. Mainly because it's gone from $55 to $70. Superbiiz usually adds like $14 shipping btw.
Also any other well rated SATA DVD drive. You shouldn't be paying $31 unless prices have all gone up. Should be $22.
Apart from that it looks good to me. Graphics?
Heatsink you can add on anytime you want to overclock. Stock 2500K will do very nicely for a long time. Investment wise I'd suggest you get the $160 ASUS board.
A 6870 is a great buy, but it won't do Witcher 2 on 'Max'. The rest of the games you should have no trouble with.
Intel SSD Toolkit
Thanks.
From the program:
"The selected Intel SSD does not have a formatted partition. This feature requires a formatted partition to run. Click Help for more information."
How does a drive randomly unformat itself? Is there a way to reformat it without losing any of the data on there?
Analysis. My board doesn't have RAID nor is there a way to update the AHCI module for my board.
Guess the only drives I can use are non-SandForce ones.
*patiently waits for Crucial and Samsung drives to drop in price*
Whoa.
Wolf Akela
Member
What a spin, lol. "It's not as good, but it's just as good."
So if the thing is launching for ~$160, that's kinda... eh? The AnandTech benchmarks I see tells me the 7770 is roughly just like a 6850 which is ~$150. It's quite colder and consumes a bit less power though.
Slayer-33
Liverpool-2
Any new ssd "tech" in the horizon that would make it worth waiting a little right now? Or should I upgrade to an ssd? I always get on my pc off hirberbate and don't really suffer from speed urges honestly.. I'm running 2x1TB F3's non-raid ATM.
There's a crucial m4 128 gig sata 3 ssd up on newegg for $164 shipped or some shit, pondering if to order it.
Also thinking of picking up that R7770 super clocked edition... Coming from a 5750.. Lol..
There's a crucial m4 128 gig sata 3 ssd up on newegg for $164 shipped or some shit, pondering if to order it.
Also thinking of picking up that R7770 super clocked edition... Coming from a 5750.. Lol..
Most important attributes for new cards.
If you want it, go grab it. Seems like SSD prices have been dropping very slowly.
Not that I am aware of, someone mentioned something in the thread though. The M4 is a good buy if you think an SSD will be good for you. I'd toss the money at GPU first though.
Also like I said in my above post get a 6870. It's cheaper and faster by a good margin.
Slayer-33
Liverpool-2
Yeah noticed you got pissed lol, but I'm more of the if it's cooler, smaller, quieter camp then better IMO.
I know it sucks that the performance is weaker on the 7770..
Ah decisions bro, decisions lol
And yeah you are right, the gpu would definitely be the best option to upgrade right now, I figure that when I jump on an ssd down the road the price per gig will be better, even of it's marginally.
Edit - Also there's an after rebate 6870 for like $135 or something, seems like a steal.
It is a steal.
SSD is very much a luxury and enthusiast item imo. Nice if you have one, not bad if you don't. Once prices drop again hopefully more people get to using them.
http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/540?vs=536
6870 is cheaper right now than 7770. It competes with the price bracket to users. If both cost $160 and one is 20-30% faster, then the 6870 is the better card. Maybe some people are swayed by 40W less under load and 5-10W less idle.
7850 and 7870 will be more expensive than $160. Shouldn't be hard for them to slot in nicely and dethrone the 560Ti which is a bad buy right now.
Naturally new cards are expensive on release.
If we take a look at the HD 6770, we can see that it was priced $150-$160 on its release date.
Makes sense the HD 7770 is priced in the same range as its predecessor.
Eventually, when this card sits on the market for a while, it will be at a sweet price point.
Yup. As I said in the 7xxx thread I understand that low power is important, it takes time to clearance old cards, plus new launch prices makes this happen.
Still doesn't make the 7770 a good buy for the next 1-2 months or longer.
New arch + 28nm has been underwhelming from AMD. Hope nVidia can do better.
Anyone before pulling the trigger on one? Will it still work in a PCI-E slot?
AwesomeSauce
MagsMoonshine
IIRC the xonar dg is pci only. Will not work on pci-e.
Need Xonar DX for pci-e support
TheOnlyMook
Member
Just put together my first PC on Monday (praise be to GAF) and it came together quite smoothly with no issues. I have to admit that I am quite the newb when it comes to getting games to run on a PC and some issues have come up. Both SMNC (beta) and Tribes Ascend (beta) will load to a splash screen and then immediately throw "Game.exe has stopped responding" errors at me. All my drivers are up to date and I was sure to spend an eternity downloading all the necessary windows updates. Is there something I may have missed or an easy way I can pinpoint what exactly I need to do instead of getting this incredibly vague error message? I did a bit of Googlin' and tried uninstall/reinstall and also updating .NET framework, but nothing has changed and I'm still getting errors. It's also important to point out that plenty of other games run fine with absolutely no errors. Here is what I'm running:
Windows 7 64-bit
Intel i5 2500k
Cooler Master Hyper 212+
Asus P8Z68-V
EVGA 560ti 448
Seasonic M12II 620w
Advanced high fives to whoever can help me through this, I know this may be a stupid question but I've been a Mac user for awhile now and Windows has become pretty foreign to me. And again, thanks to GAF and Hazaro for putting this thread together, it's been super helpful.
Windows 7 64-bit
Intel i5 2500k
Cooler Master Hyper 212+
Asus P8Z68-V
EVGA 560ti 448
Seasonic M12II 620w
Advanced high fives to whoever can help me through this, I know this may be a stupid question but I've been a Mac user for awhile now and Windows has become pretty foreign to me. And again, thanks to GAF and Hazaro for putting this thread together, it's been super helpful.
Really? Then why are they comparing it to the 560ti?
TouchMyBox
Member
Is anyone putting out a low-profile 7750? Because that would be an insanely good HTPC card. (with non-reference cooling, of course)
Not yet but they will for sure
The 560ti spanks the 7770 but cost more. Most reviews I've read compare it to the 560, which stills wins but also costs a little more or the same with rebates.
The worst part is the 6870 which costs less and performs better.
Good stuffs from Tiger Direct today. M4 128GB for $150, Corsair Force 3 90GB for $105.
Wonder if these prices will drop more in the next months.
Chiggs
Member
So, I've had a week to get to know my Gigabyte Radeon 7970. My first thought is regret...this card should not be over $500.00, but since Nvidia is dragging their ass with Kepler (June, seriously?) AMD can do whatever they want. Still, shame on them for being so bullish.
My second thought concerns acoustics; this thing is loud as hell. So loud, in fact, I've had to resort to using headphones. Not sure why AMD couldn't design a better reference cooler. This thing is nearly as bad as the initial batches of GTX 480s.
Third thought concerns performance; I love what it can do, but I'm still feeling like the drivers are holding it back. Hoping they improve over the next month.
My second thought concerns acoustics; this thing is loud as hell. So loud, in fact, I've had to resort to using headphones. Not sure why AMD couldn't design a better reference cooler. This thing is nearly as bad as the initial batches of GTX 480s.
Third thought concerns performance; I love what it can do, but I'm still feeling like the drivers are holding it back. Hoping they improve over the next month.
Probably not, unfortunately.
If you look at the last gen of SSD's, they're still the same price as current gen ones of comparable sizes.
I suppose that's because of the manufacturing process. If you look at RAM, DDR1 RAM is way more expensive than DDR3 is.
So, I've held off on a whole WC addition to my mini rig since I basically just bought/built a computer for one of my teammates. Since one of my 560Ti's is going in that build, I've since moved the 7970 into my big rig. Don't know what you have going on with yours, but mine is pretty fricken quiet. That's also with BitFenix Spectre Pro fans which are already quiet. I honestly can't distinguish between case fans and the 7970. I am running stock voltage on it, as T:A with the comp ini settings is maxed at 120fps with the CCC sliders to the right.
Reference coolers suck though, you're right. Only real reason to buy them really is if you're planning on getting a waterblock/aftermarket cooler, or because you simply can't wait for non-reference. Think about grabbing the Arctic Cooling cooler for it, should give you more OC headroom too.
Alternatively, have you looked at your temps on it? Thought about creating some custom fan profiles to keep the noise down?
Chiggs
Member
I'm thinking that it's my case. I'm more of MATX guy, so I stick with smaller cases and try my best to keep things whisper quiet. The Radeon 7970 is substantially louder than the 6970 or 6950.
Yeah, my temps look pretty good. I think I'll mess around with the profiles for a bit.
http://www.guru3d.com/article/amd-radeon-hd-7970-review/10
This shows idle noise as lower than 6970/6950, but equal load noise. Is yours OC'd whereas previous cards were not?
This shows idle noise as lower than 6970/6950, but equal load noise. Is yours OC'd whereas previous cards were not?
Aim for 20 dBA or below if you want tolerable noise for idling. Can't stand anything above.
Change the stock cooler if you really want quiet performance although changing coolers will void your warranty.
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