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"I need a New PC!" 2011 Thread of reading the OP. Seriously. [Part 2]

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Bebpo

Banned
How does that 570 in the OP compare to a 580? I'm still deciding between the two for an upgrade. Want a single gpu card that can beast everything currently at 1080p and will be good for the near future of releases as well.
 

Hazaro

relies on auto-aim
Ryusei said:
Has anyone used this wireless adapter before?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833320048

How easy is the installation?
Super. Just remove the back cover (PCI Bracket) and insert the card into an open PCI-E slot.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rS1Q82kEJNg
Jtrizzy said:
I want to do a build in the $1,500 range. I want to start with one 580 or 590 to start, but will absolutely be adding more as time goes on, at least one more, but maybe more deepending on what you guys advise.

I will begin buying the parts sometime this month unless you guys advise otherwise. I do plan to buy it in two installments of $750.
You'll want to fill out the list in the OP like someone already did, in addition to what you listed.

bill0527 said:
Your Current Specs: C2D 2.13ghz E6420/Gigabyte GA-965P-DS3 LGA 775 Mobo/4GB Corsair DDR2 800 RAM/Radeon HD 4850 Video Card
Budget: $300-$400 USA
Main Use:Gaming, General Use
Monitor Resolution: 1920x1080 will probably not upgrade from this resolution
List SPECIFIC games that you MUST be able to play:Diablo 3, Starcraft 2, WoW, Battlefield 3
Are reusing any parts?: Xclio Goodpower 500w power supply, Antec Performone One P180B cold rolled steel case, Samsung 18x DVD burner, Radeon HD 4850
When will you build?:In the next month
Will you be overclocking?:Yes

Need upgrades now. My hard drive is going bad so I'll need to replace that also. Its making very loud clicking noises that were non-existent the last 3 years.

I'm on a strict budget so I'm thinking of going with AMD this time. I'll need a CPU, Mobo, RAM, and hard drive.

I was thinking of this combo deal at Newegg:
AMD Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition Deneb 3.4GHz Socket AM3 125W Quad-Core Processor

MSI NF750-G55 AM3 NVIDIA nForce 750a SLI HDMI ATX AMD Motherboard

Combo is about $220.00

This hard drive:
Seagate Barracuda ST31000524AS 1TB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive $59.99

Tax and shipping that'll get me to around $300.00

A couple of questions though.

I will be re-using my Radeon HD 4850 at least until this fall. Will I have problems using it with an nVidia nforce mobo?

My current PC was built in 2007. My original OS was Vista 32-bit OEM disc from Newegg and I got a Win 7 64-bit Upgrade disc when Win 7 came out. Will I be able to install these and use them on my new build or are they a one-time use only thing? I will not be using the hardware that they are currently installed on when I get my new setup put together. I'll be destroying this current hard drive when I get my new one.. if it doesn't die first, which it sounds like it might.

edit: Shit I forgot the RAM.. add $45
You'll actually want to go with Intel on this route. DIII, SC II, WoW all want that speed. Yes, I know it's a dual core. But you have to trust me it's fast. Plus you can pop in a 2500K down the line and clock it to 4.4Ghz or drop in an Ivy Bridge next year.

A good upgrade path for you on this budget would be an
($125) Intel 2100 : http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115078
($115) MSI P67A-C43 : http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130571
($40) 4GB Corsair XMS DDR3 : http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820233132
($65) Samsung F3 1TB : http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152185
From The Dust said:
I'm set on buying this: HIS Radeon HD 6950 2GB. is there a comprehensive flashing guide out their?

also, we need a new DSL modem, so what's the best for less than $100?

thanks GAF
http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/316974-33-radeon-6950-shader-unlock-instructions

Modem? That should be supplied by your ISP. Most only want a specific type they give out.
Bebpo said:
How does that 570 in the OP compare to a 580? I'm still deciding between the two for an upgrade. Want a single gpu card that can beast everything currently at 1080p and will be good for the near future of releases as well.
Check benchmark reviews of the 580/570 (They will most likely be together) in the sites listed at the OP. Depending on your res/games/settings/expectations A 570 might meet all of them, a 580 overkill.

It doesn't look like we will be getting new GPU's for a while, and the only possible real hardware pusher now is The Witcher 2 and BF3 coming up.
 

scogoth

Member
Hazaro said:
You'll actually want to go with Intel on this route. DIII, SC II, WoW all want that speed. Yes, I know it's a dual core. But you have to trust me it's fast. Plus you can pop in a 2500K down the line and clock it to 4.4Ghz or drop in an Ivy Bridge next year.

A good upgrade path for you on this budget would be an
($120) Intel 2100 : http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152185
($115) MSI P67A-C43 : http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130571
($40) 4GB Corsair XMS DDR3 : http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820233132
($65) Samsung F3 1TB : http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152185

You can save a little more money with an H67 chipset if you don't intend to upgrade the CPU to an unlocked CPU.


Bebpo said:
How does that 570 in the OP compare to a 580? I'm still deciding between the two for an upgrade. Want a single gpu card that can beast everything currently at 1080p and will be good for the near future of releases as well.

570 will be more then enough at 1080p. Get a 580 if you want to go master race and crank up that aa past 8x.
 

Hazaro

relies on auto-aim
I shortened and updated some of the stuff in the second post.
From The Dust said:
except it's shit. it overheats like crazy and it doesn't even give us the speed we pay for (it did when it was first plugged in)

this one

and thanks for the guide
I can't help you here. You should talk to your ISP about it and see if they have upgraded. sometimes they will even stop your service if you don't have the right modem, or it may not work. (I could be misinformed or outdated on this).

I got a free modem replacement (upgrade) from my ISP. Try to get a hold of someone who can.

Are you positive it is your modem? Try changing your DNS to 208.67.222.222 or 8.8.8.8 and see what happens.
scogoth said:
You can save a little more money with an H67 chipset if you don't intend to upgrade the CPU to an unlocked CPU.
True, but I'd gladly spend $40 on a better board within his budget and have that potential to upgrade to a 2500K or Ivy Bridge down the line.
Also I'm not sure which H61 board to recommend with confidence! Probably an ASRock though.
squicken said:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131733

Pulled the trigger on a new motherboard. Also bought a Hyper 212+, mainly for the noise reduction. But I have a 955, and it's supposedly easy to overclock. Do people use that Overdrive program from AMD, or do it manually?
New motherboard for just overclocking? AM3+ boards are out in a month.

All CPU overclocking in BIOS.
 
Enterprise SSD testing spec released
SNIA, which designed the spec to level the benchmark playing field, is also working on application-specific tests for solid-state drives
http://www.networkworld.com/news/2011/052311-enterprise-ssd-testing-spec.html


squicken said:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131733

Pulled the trigger on a new motherboard. Also bought a Hyper 212+, mainly for the noise reduction. But I have a 955, and it's supposedly easy to overclock. Do people use that Overdrive program from AMD, or do it manually?
Stick to manual overclocking. Google your specifc motherboard + CPU to get you started and see what other owners have done.


The Broken Ska Record said:
Thanks guys. I wasn't sure what GPU I want to get yet, and I wanted to make sure my options are open.
Hey, even though you listen to ska, people here will still help you.


Hazaro said:
Once I get some royalties. Sure.
<--- sadface
 

bill0527

Member
Thanks for the tips, I'll do a little more research on your recommendations before I pull the trigger on anything.
 

Izayoi

Banned
From The Dust said:
except it's shit. it overheats like crazy and it doesn't even give us the speed we pay for (it did when it was first plugged in)

this one

and thanks for the guide
Tell them it's faulty and have them send you a new one.

Buying a modem that isn't given to you by your ISP is a bad idea.
 

Deadstar

Member
Does anyone recommend a headset with a mic for gaming on the computer? I will use it mainly for steam voice chat. I want it to be usb and I only want the pad to cover one ear. I'm basically looking for the xbox headset but with a usb plug. It doesn't have to be fancy.
 

comrade

Member
From The Dust said:
I'm set on buying this: HIS Radeon HD 6950 2GB. is there a comprehensive flashing guide out their?

also, we need a new DSL modem, so what's the best for less than $100?

thanks GAF
That's a non reference 6950 and looking at the Newegg comments looks like it can't be unlocked.

Newegg said:
Cons: As this is not based on the reference design, note that you do not have the dual bios, and also that the shaders cannot be unlocked, so this 6950 will remain a 6950.

As long as you know what you're getting into, this isn't even really a Con - the reference cards have pretty much dried up at this point.
Newegg said:
Cons: First one came DOA, RMA'd it and got the replacement in ~week and a half. I guess the refrence model has been discontinued so you can't unlock these cards to 6970 bios.
 

Jtrizzy

Member
Basic Desktop Questions:
Your Current Specs: none
Budget: $1,500 to $1,800
Main Use: Gaming, Emulation (PS2/Wii), 3D gaming, general usage: Word, Web, 1080p playback, tv tuner for tivo functionality
Monitor Resolution:. I will be on a Panasonic VT25 3DTV. 1080p in 2d at 60 fps with all settings maxed, 720p 60 fps in 3d with all settings maxed.
List SPECIFIC games that you MUST be able to play: Battlefield 3, Battlefield 3, and any other games for graphics whores.
Are reusing any parts?: No
When will you build?: later this month, but could delay if it is the smart thing to do
Will you be overclocking?: Yes, but maybe not at first and was wondering if there is a better processor than the 2500k so I can still emu/bf3 at the settings I mentioned above w/o overclocking at first. I can deal (save money) without the ssd, and spend more on the processsor? I don't understand how that improves it from a gaming standpoint tbh.


Thanks guys, haven't had a gaming pc since doom so I'm kind of lost. Fortunately I have a friend who can help me put it together. Also I plan to add more 580's or 590's down the road.
 

squicken

Member
Hazaro said:
New motherboard for just overclocking? AM3+ boards are out in a month.

All CPU overclocking in BIOS.

As far as I know that is an AM3+ board, not just an AM3 board that will support AM3+ CPUs.

I wanted a new motherboard for a quieter CPU fan, and old mATX board had clearance issues with aftermarket coolers. Also for SATA 3 and eSATA, both of which the old board didn't have.

I'm not sure I'm even going to overclock. I just never really researched it b/c I couldn't imagine the old CPU fan getting any louder.
 

Hazaro

relies on auto-aim
squicken said:
As far as I know that is an AM3+ board, not just an AM3 board that will support AM3+ CPUs.

I wanted a new motherboard for a quieter CPU fan, and old mATX board had clearance issues with aftermarket coolers. Also for SATA 3 and eSATA, both of which the old board didn't have.

I'm not sure I'm even going to overclock. I just never really researched it b/c I couldn't imagine the old CPU fan getting any louder.
Haha, my bad. I have 8 newegg tabs open and I just glanced at AM3. Good to see some reviews going up on the AM3+ boards.
Jtrizzy said:
Basic Desktop Questions:
Your Current Specs: none
Budget: $1,500 to $1,800
Main Use: Gaming, Emulation (PS2/Wii), 3D gaming, general usage: Word, Web, 1080p playback, tv tuner for tivo functionality
Monitor Resolution:. I will be on a Panasonic VT25 3DTV. 1080p in 2d at 60 fps with all settings maxed, 720p 60 fps in 3d with all settings maxed.
List SPECIFIC games that you MUST be able to play: Battlefield 3, Battlefield 3, and any other games for graphics whores.
Are reusing any parts?: No
When will you build?: later this month, but could delay if it is the smart thing to do
Will you be overclocking?: Yes, but maybe not at first and was wondering if there is a better processor than the 2500k so I can still emu/bf3 at the settings I mentioned above w/o overclocking at first. I can deal (save money) without the ssd, and spend more on the processsor? I don't understand how that improves it from a gaming standpoint tbh.


Thanks guys, haven't had a gaming pc since doom so I'm kind of lost. Fortunately I have a friend who can help me put it together. Also I plan to add more 580's or 590's down the road.
2500K is all you are going to get CPU wise.

Take the OP build, but sub in:
8GB G.Skill: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231417
This ASRock mobo (I'll sub this in): http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157229
This Silverstone 1000W PSU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817256057
Intel 320/510 as an SSD for good measure.
 
The Broken Ska Record said:
Hug it out?


Jtrizzy said:
Basic Desktop Questions:
Your Current Specs: none
Budget: $1,500 to $1,800
Main Use: Gaming, Emulation (PS2/Wii), 3D gaming, general usage: Word, Web, 1080p playback, tv tuner for tivo functionality
Monitor Resolution:. I will be on a Panasonic VT25 3DTV. 1080p in 2d at 60 fps with all settings maxed, 720p 60 fps in 3d with all settings maxed.
List SPECIFIC games that you MUST be able to play: Battlefield 3, Battlefield 3, and any other games for graphics whores.
Are reusing any parts?: No
When will you build?: later this month, but could delay if it is the smart thing to do
Will you be overclocking?: Yes, but maybe not at first and was wondering if there is a better processor than the 2500k so I can still emu/bf3 at the settings I mentioned above w/o overclocking at first. I can deal (save money) without the ssd, and spend more on the processsor? I don't understand how that improves it from a gaming standpoint tbh.


Thanks guys, haven't had a gaming pc since doom so I'm kind of lost. Fortunately I have a friend who can help me put it together. Also I plan to add more 580's or 590's down the road.
Take a look at the $1,000 build in the OP. You may want to change the motherboard and/or ram since there seem to be issues, or do an update. You'll need a better PSU for high end SLI, so you may as well get a modular unit ~850W+. Two 570s will give you the best performance/price, particularly the better custom GPUs available.

Pick a case, add Win 7, or a Linux distro. Can't say I've followed the compatibility developments with GPUs to 3D TVs (maybe someone else can speak on that), though most tend to use 3D PC monitors and projectors that have support.

2500K/2600K are tops when it comes to mainstream CPUs for emulator use.

edit: must stop wandering off before hitting submit
 

Izayoi

Banned
black_vegeta said:
Why?

I've done it before and never had a problem?
Comcast I know, at least in my area, will not allow modems that aren't given out by them to access the internet. I'm aware that it's not the same everywhere, but it seems like you're just asking for trouble. If it's faulty your ISP will replace it for free, what's the harm in giving them a call and asking for a new one?
 

Jtrizzy

Member
Nvidia has good 3dtv support. Now I just need two more VT25's lol. How many 580's would it take to do the 3 monitor stereo 3d thing at 720 60 with maxed settings?
 

Aurarian

Member
Your Current Specs: X4 630 @ 3.4ghz / RAM 2x2GB 1600 DDR3 Ram / MSI 870A-G54 / Gigabyte 460 GTX @ 870/1750
Budget: $800-1000, US.
Main Use: Gaming and general usage.
Monitor Resolution: At this moment 1680x1050. I would like to get a new monitor so I can finally be at 1080p.
List SPECIFIC games that you MUST be able to play: Witcher 2, BF3, Valve games
Are reusing any parts?: I might want to re-use my ram and my HDD(Samsung 500GB Spinpoint? F3) depending if it's worth it and my CM Hyper 212 Plus.
When will you build?: Probably in the fall to give myself time to gather the money and to see whether the new AMD cpu's will be worth it.
Will you be overclocking?: Yes

Want to make something for the fall. I kinda want longevity in my build, future proofing as much would be great. Need a case that will fit that huge ass heatsink for sure and possibly an ATI card since I hear they're pretty huge compared to the Nvidia cards.
 

n0n44m

Member
Jtrizzy said:
Nvidia has good 3dtv support. Now I just need two more VT25's lol. How many 580's would it take to do the 3 monitor stereo 3d thing at 720 60 with maxed settings?

if you're seriously interested about the stereo 3D stuff then definitely get the 3GB version of the 580, because although 3 * 720p is less taxing then 3 * 1080p it'll still eat through RAM in 3D I imagine

and 2 heavily overclocked (water) 3GB 580s do 1080p*3 stereo 3D at 40~50 fps if I remember correctly .. so you might get 60 at 720
 

Hazaro

relies on auto-aim
**I think these might be the last ones I format for small screens. Takes too much time to update cropping everything.

RE-Updated the Budget build. Considering a lot of things, I went with the 460 1GB, subbed in an i3-2100, changed mobo to something I think is serviceable to most, and again included other alternative options.

The 460 really is one heck of a card, especially if you clock it like mad. It is just so good for the price that having a 560ti didn't make much sense. And the 560 is just a 460 and I don't like that.

$540 AR for a tower that capable is criminal. $500 even if you budget the mobo and get a GTX460 768MB.

6/5/2011: Updated the $600-$700 build:Intel i3-2100, 4GB DDR3, 500GB or 1TB HDD, GTX460 1GB, $40-$60 case, Corsair CX430W, ASRock H67M motherboard, DVD Burner. < Click for wishlist

UXrup.png


Aurarian said:
List SPECIFIC games that you MUST be able to play: Witcher 2, BF3, Valve games
Are reusing any parts?: I might want to re-use my ram and my HDD(Samsung 500GB Spinpoint? F3) depending if it's worth it and my CM Hyper 212 Plus.
When will you build?: Probably in the fall to give myself time to gather the money and to see whether the new AMD cpu's will be worth it.
Will you be overclocking?: Yes
For all the reasons you stated, drop by after AM3+ hits.
Keeping your current parts should be no problem.
 

Hazaro

relies on auto-aim
**Ok, hopefully that is all the updating I need to do for a while. I cleaned up some extra old news in the OP as well.

Re-Updated the $1000 build.

Simple common errors with the MSI (cycling) and ASUS (Sleep mainly) caused me to go with the ASRock. Their P67 boards have all reviewed well and seem to lack the problems others have. Hopefully it wasn't just because not a lot of people bought ASRocks in the first place... Now ASRock now has both spots in the builds. Didn't think that would happen!

6/5/2011: Updated the ~$1000 Build:Intel 2500K, 4GB DDR3, 2TB HDD, GTX570, $60-$80 case, Corsair 750W, ASRock P67 EXTREME4 motherboard, DVD Burner. < Click for wishlist
Y8ymZ.png
 

Ryusei

Neo Member
Basic Desktop Questions:
Budget: 700 > 1k - USA
Main Use: Gaming and Gaming
Monitor Resolution: 1280x1040
List SPECIFIC games that you MUST be able to play: Witcher 2 - BF3 - Skyrim
When will you build?: Less than 1 week.
Will you be overclocking?: Maybe.

Last time since I have received a lot of help with the build, now I am just finalizing everything before the purchase. Also making sure I am making the best choices keeping in mind the updated builds.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827118040
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119233
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136073
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824009299
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833320048
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102921
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371044
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820220480
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130579
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115078

This is my first time building so, tech savyness is kinda low. D:
 

Hazaro

relies on auto-aim
Ryusei said:
Basic Desktop Questions:
Budget: 700 > 1k - USA
Main Use: Gaming and Gaming
Monitor Resolution: 1280x1040
List SPECIFIC games that you MUST be able to play: Witcher 2 - BF3 - Skyrim
When will you build?: Less than 1 week.
Will you be overclocking?: Maybe.

Last time since I have received a lot of help with the build, now I am just finalizing everything before the purchase. Also making sure I am making the best choices keeping in mind the updated builds.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827118040
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119233
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136073
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824009299
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833320048
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102921
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371044
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820220480
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130579
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115078

This is my first time building so, tech savyness is kinda low. D:
Take the $600 build.
Add 2500K
Add that MSI P67A-C43 (For overclocking)
Add BP550 PSU (You don't need more than the CX430, but I know some people get super paranoid)
Add Samsung F3 1TB (More solid drive)
Graphics card is up to you.
 

Ryusei

Neo Member
Hazaro said:
Take the $600 build.
Add 2500K
Add that MSI P67A-C43 (For overclocking)
Add BP550 PSU (You don't need more than the CX430, but I know some people get super paranoid)
Add Samsung F3 1TB (More solid drive)
Graphics card is up to you.

I'll stay on the graphics card at the moment. It, is slightly higher than the price I was at for the build I linked which isnt so bad. Hopefully it will show in the mileage.
 

Hazaro

relies on auto-aim
Jtrizzy said:
Hazaro, would you mind giving me some feedback on this:

https://secure.newegg.com/WishList/MySavedWishDetail.aspx?ID=16382485

Also, what about a tv tuner to do recording, also need kb/m. Thanks for your help.
Looks good to me, though you should link the public version: http://secure.newegg.com/WishList/PublicWishDetail.aspx?WishListNumber=16382485

Is that 3GB just for 3D vision/texture mods?
SLi in the future correct?

TVTuner I can't really help you with. Newegg reviews should guide you.
Same for Mouse / KB. Set a price and start browsing.
 

Jtrizzy

Member
Thanks, I was trying to link to the public one...anyway, no I doubt ill ever invest that much to do the 3d vision surround to be honest. But SLI is definitely in my future.
 
Izayoi said:
Comcast I know, at least in my area, will not allow modems that aren't given out by them to access the internet. I'm aware that it's not the same everywhere, but it seems like you're just asking for trouble. If it's faulty your ISP will replace it for free, what's the harm in giving them a call and asking for a new one?
The one that's overheating is the replacement :lol

Also, thanks for the heads up comrade. I figured it wasn't the one I was looking at since it looked different. I just wanted to post a link
 

Eliciel

Member
Hi again, so I searched the forum for EVGA GTX 560 TI FPB, but I couldn't find anything that could help me.

My question:
Has anyone here experienced any problems with that card or is anyone satisfied with it?
And would you recommend me buying that card or is there any other card with comparable OC Attributes. I am searching for a good GTX 560 Ti card with a silent cooler on it.

If you have any recommendations feel free to post them :). Like I said it should be as silent as possible also, but not sacrificing too much power for it.


Thank you in advance :)

PS: I just can't decide whether to buy MSI GTX 560 Ti Twin Frozr II OC or EVGA GTX 560 TI FPB
 

Binabik15

Member
I have the task to build a pc that my brother will receive for his 18th birthday. Straight up gaming machine. I build a pc last year with GAF´s help, so I know a thing or two, but things like Crossfire still give me trouble.

I was thinking about going with Radeons again, but I´m open to suggestions. It´s just that 2gig 6950s are starting at 206€ and 1.X gig 570s at 265€, though gaming at 1080p shouldn´t exceed the ~1 gig of video memory, right? A single 580 is right between 2 6950s and a 6990 in price, eek. Nvidia cards draw more power as well.

So, here´s a few questions:

-The ASRock P67 Extreme4 (B3) from the OP has 3x PCI-Express 16 slots, so you can hook up up to three cards, right?

-The i7 2600k got brilliant perfomance reviews in pc mags and is "only" ~75€ more expensive than the i5 2500k. Is spending more money here future proofing or simply wasting money (considering that both should OC nicely)?

-Unlocking the 6950: I couldn´t find a rough guesstimate on how high your chane to unlock it is. Any idea?

-Crossfiring two of them might be nice down the road, anything you have to look out for besides enough space, enough PSU cables and enough Watt?

Edit: What about the Corsair 950 TX PSU, since I can´t find the OP one here.

PS: Thanks in advance, yo.
 

chaosblade

Unconfirmed Member
Binabik15 said:
I have the task to build a pc that my brother will receive for his 18th birthday. Straight up gaming machine. I build a pc last year with GAF´s help, so I know a thing or two, but things like Crossfire still give me trouble.

I was thinking about going with Radeons again, but I´m open to suggestions. It´s just that 2gig 6950s are starting at 206€ and 1.X gig 570s at 265€, though gaming at 1080p shouldn´t exceed the ~1 gig of video memory, right? A single 580 is right between 2 6950s and a 6990 in price, eek. Nvidia cards draw more power as well.

So, here´s a few questions:

-The ASRock P67 Extreme4 (B3) from the OP has 3x PCI-Express 16 slots, so you can hook up up to three cards, right?

-The i7 2600k got brilliant perfomance reviews in pc mags and is "only" ~75€ more expensive than the i5 2500k. Is spending more money here future proofing or simply wasting money (considering that both should OC nicely)?

-Unlocking the 6950: I couldn´t find a rough guesstimate on how high your chane to unlock it is. Any idea?

-Crossfiring two of them might be nice down the road, anything you have to look out for besides enough space, enough PSU cables and enough Watt?
Technically you could put 3 cards in there, but it can only run 8x/8x/4x, so the last card could bottleneck you. I wouldn't be concerned with that, there's really no point in going with 3 cards.

2600k is just a 2500k with hyperthreading, it's not worth it in a gaming machine.

Not sure on unlocking newer 6950s. I was under the impression only the original models can be unlocked, but it looks like any reference model (even the newer reference one) can be unlocked. And like OCing YMMV, but it looks like there are pretty decent odds of it working.

The general issues with crossfire (compatibility, micro-stutter, etc) are something to think about. Like water cooling, it's not something I'd recommend when building for somebody else unless you plan to play tech-support for the life of the machine.

That PSU would be fine for two cards, and would be major overkill for a single card machine.


Also, the 6950 is closer in performance to the 560Ti than the 570. That's probably what you should be comparing it to.
 

ExMachina

Unconfirmed Member
Ryusei said:
Has anyone used this wireless adapter before?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833320048

How easy is the installation?
Easy to install, but FYI you may run into issues if you're running Windows 7 64-bit + more than 3gb of RAM since it's a Ralink chipset. It's an insidious problem that may not show up right away (or never, if you're lucky), but at certain download speeds or amounts you could get freezing/stuttering/CPU spikes.
 
Any suggestions for a cheap 5.1 sound card? upgrading the gfx card to one with one is throwing money away at this point as this PC is only good for pre 2008 games and music so something around the £25 mark would be nice.
 

JaseC

gave away the keys to the kingdom.
Johnlenham said:
Any suggestions for a cheap 5.1 sound card? upgrading the gfx card to one with one is throwing money away at this point as this PC is only good for pre 2008 games and music so something around the £25 mark would be nice.

ASUS Xonar DG. Comes in at just under £30 judging from a quick Amazon.co.uk search.
 

Ace 8095

Member
I'm considering the new $600 build and have a few questions. It's mentioned that the build is upgrade compatible with ivory bridge. I'm slightly confused as I thought a P67 was required to overclock those chips. If I were to buy that build, and planned on installing an ivory bridge next year, should I go ahead and buy a p67 motherboard? Also I can buy a used 6950 2gb flashed to a 6970 for $185. Should I consider that for the price?
 
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