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[RGM79]

Not sure if this is the right place to ask about this, but it is somewhat related to upgrading my PC. Today, all of a sudden, all sound from all audio jacks became crackly and laggy. At first I thought it was my headphones, but they work fine with my phone. There's no static, just that when any sound is played, its horrible. I don't have a dedicated sound card and when I try the test tone, I hear half of the test in low laggy quality and then it stops.

I recently replaced the PSU with a Corsair CS550M, and I'm pretty sure that's not what's causing the poor sound since I replaced it days ago, and I've been doing some heavy gaming with it. Other specs are:

i5 760 2.8 GHz
AMD HD 5770
EVGA P55V Motherboard

These 3 are 4 year old parts, and I've read to my dismay that the motherboard is crap and the BIOS doesn't even allow for overclocking the CPU. I've been wanting to upgrade for a while and have had a list of replacement parts, so I'm pretty much ready to scrap the motherboard and CPU, and get a new GPU down the line (no SLI, which is why I went with the PSU that I did).

Would this have anything to do with the new PSU or is it just the motherboard sound crapping out?

I doubt it's the power supply. Try reusing the old power supply to see if it makes a difference. If you're prepared to make the leap to a new PC, go for it.

I'm shopping from Finland. Here's the hardware I've been looking at racked up. This is just the parts sold seperately from that site.

http://i1.minus.com/iEeNak6O0mbDF.png

I'll probably e-mail them and ask what they'd charge for shipping it completed.

Will you be doing anything other than playing games? Here's a example build I put together on another Finnish website (verkkokauppa.com), you stand to save around 200€. Unfortunately, I don't know if that website offers assembly or not, but it's just to give you an idea of how much money you can save.

Yeah, I'd have to recommend SLI for 3440x1440.

 

[DJ_Lae]

I'm slowly going more and more overboard while looking at monitors - I've been meaning to pick up a 144Hz monitor for a while. The BenQ 2411T in the OP was my starting point...and on sale the 2420Z is only an extra $50 at the moment, and then it's really only a similarly small leap up to the 2720Z (okay, that leap is a bit wider).

I can claim the monitor, so the actual price is only a concern with regards to eating up my allocation of credits...assuming that nothing goes wrong with my computer in the next year and needs replacing. And the 27" monitor still being 1080p does have me pause a bit...but also having a huge gaming monitor would be nice, and 1080p at higher framerates is already going to have my aging 7970 wheezing with most games.

I've never used anything larger than 24" - is 1080p too low a resolution for a 27" monitor, or should I just splurge on myself?

edit - could also just wait for the 2730Z, although no idea how much that'll run up here.

 

[reKon]

So it works fine now? I'd be worried if it happened again, but it sounds like an occasional hiccup. It could even be a bad power switch.



I'll respect your decision to pay the premium, but Dell doesn't have a good reputation for being supportive of user upgrades.

1. SoC is a term for small chips that include more than a processor, usually for phones and tablets. You probably mean Intel's new 5th generation Core processors, those are due out in the middle of this year. If you can wait, it's up to you, I don't think it'll make a huge difference. Keep in mind that you will also have to wait for when Alienware/Dell update their Alienware X51 line.

I have no idea when Dell does sales.

2. From what research I can find, the Alienware X51 comes with a 330 watt power brick, not a standard power supply. I can't easily recommend any graphics cards upgrades. According to official Dell tech support, the best graphics card you can upgrade to would be the GTX 670 or GTX 760 Ti (OEM part specific to Dell). The X51 has limited upgrade options due to the small 330 watt power supply.

There are reports that non-factory overclocked GTX 970 models may work, but those normally require a 500 watt power supply. Upgrade at your own risk.

Thanks. I've been doing some searching and it seems people are running the 970 with no issues because of the low power draw so I might should be good. When I say upgrades, the only upgrades I see myself doing other than the GPU is adding 2 to 4 TB drive to hold most my media. I was thinking of putting in SSD, but apparently that's pointless because boot up times are still very fast on this from what I read. This is a machine that will be on most of the time.

 

[The Viewtiful One]

OK guys this is what i'm thinking about currently with about a days worth of research. Trying to build a kickass gaming PC that will last for a while and run oculus rift games without any problems.

Anything i'm missing/grossly overpaying for? Any sugestions?


PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-4790K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor ($318.99 @ SuperBiiz)
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-D15 82.5 CFM CPU Cooler ($89.99 @ Mwave)
Motherboard: ASRock Z97 EXTREME6 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($163.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: Patriot Viper 3 Low Profile Red 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-2133 Memory ($149.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Crucial MX100 512GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($196.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($54.98 @ Directron)
Case: NZXT Phantom 820 (Grey) ATX Full Tower Case ($181.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA 1000G2 1000W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($162.98 @ OutletPC)
Optical Drive: LG WH16NS40 Blu-Ray/DVD/CD Writer ($56.99 @ Micro Center)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 - 64-bit (OEM) (64-bit) ($92.00 @ B&H)
Sound Card: Creative Labs Z PCIe 24-bit 96 KHz Sound Card ($89.98 @ OutletPC)
Other: EVGA GeForce GTX 970 (04G-P4-3975-KR) ($359.99)
Other: EVGA GeForce GTX 970 (04G-P4-3975-KR) ($359.99) (Not in there database yet)http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814487088

Total: $2278.85
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-01-12 00:29 EST-0500

Your Current Specs: Old pc is going to my little brother.
Budget: $2500 max monitor and accessories exclusive.
Main Use: Heavy Gaming and emulation.
Monitor Resolution: 1080p currently but i'm gonna snag a ROG Swift ASAP(or wait for a g-sync ips screen..fuck my impatience)
List SPECIFIC games or applications that you MUST be able to run well: This should run most things well for a while, no?
Looking to reuse any parts?: NO
When will you build?: Probably the end of the month.
Will you be overclocking?: Yes

 

[KePoW]

So it works fine now? I'd be worried if it happened again, but it sounds like an occasional hiccup. It could even be a bad power switch.

No -- the 3 times I've powered off (shut down from Windows) the last couple days, the next time I've always had to hold down the power button for 30 seconds method, or else it won't turn on normally

But once it does actually power on and boot up, everything seems to run fine.

 

[human onion]

I doubt it's the power supply. Try reusing the old power supply to see if it makes a difference. If you're prepared to make the leap to a new PC, go for it.

The old power supply is dead, and thinking about it, there's no way it could have caused it. If I'm planning on replacing everything, I might as well go for it. Thanks anyway.

 

[RGM79]

Thanks. I've been doing some searching and it seems people are running the 970 with no issues because of the low power draw so I might should be good. When I say upgrades, the only upgrades I see myself doing other than the GPU is adding 2 to 4 TB drive to hold most my media. I was thinking of putting in SSD, but apparently that's pointless because boot up times are still very fast on this from what I read. This is a machine that will be on most of the time.

Sounds like you have a plan, then. The only other benefit of an SSD would be faster load times, but that's up to you whether to get it or not.

OK guys this is what i'm thinking about currently with about a days worth of research. Trying to build a kickass gaming PC that will last for a while and run oculus rift games without any problems.

Anything i'm missing/grossly overpaying for? Any sugestions?


PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-4790K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor ($318.99 @ SuperBiiz)
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-D15 82.5 CFM CPU Cooler ($89.99 @ Mwave)
Motherboard: ASRock Z97 EXTREME6 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($163.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: Patriot Viper 3 Low Profile Red 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-2133 Memory ($149.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Crucial MX100 512GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($196.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($54.98 @ Directron)
Case: NZXT Phantom 820 (Grey) ATX Full Tower Case ($181.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA 1000G2 1000W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($162.98 @ OutletPC)
Optical Drive: LG WH16NS40 Blu-Ray/DVD/CD Writer ($56.99 @ Micro Center)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 - 64-bit (OEM) (64-bit) ($92.00 @ B&H)
Sound Card: Creative Labs Z PCIe 24-bit 96 KHz Sound Card ($89.98 @ OutletPC)
Other: EVGA GeForce GTX 970 (04G-P4-3975-KR) ($359.99)
Other: EVGA GeForce GTX 970 (04G-P4-3975-KR) ($359.99) (Not in there database yet)http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814487088

Total: $2278.85
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-01-12 00:29 EST-0500

Your Current Specs: Old pc is going to my little brother.
Budget: $2500 max monitor and accessories exclusive.
Main Use: Heavy Gaming and emulation.
Monitor Resolution: 1080p currently but i'm gonna snag a ROG Swift ASAP(or wait for a g-sync ips screen..fuck my impatience)
List SPECIFIC games or applications that you MUST be able to run well: This should run most things well for a while, no?
Looking to reuse any parts?: NO
When will you build?: Probably the end of the month.
Will you be overclocking?: Yes

1. You could save some money by going with an i5 4690K which will produce identical framerate compared to the i7 4790K in most games, and a cheaper motherboard like the MSI Z97S SLI Plus ($111) or the Gigabyte GA-Z97X-SLI ($117), unless you need the more expensive ASRock Extreme6 for some reason. Generally the i7 4790K is only recommended if you are doing things like video editing, CAD design, or other things that can take advantage of the hyperthreading.
2. That case is really expensive. If you don't mind switching, I'd recommend something much cheaper yet still high quality, like the full tower Phanteks Enthoo Pro ($99) or the mid tower Fractal Define R5 ($107).
3. The EVGA 1000 watt power supply is a very good model, but overkill for your needs, 700 watts is enough for two GTX 970 in SLI as well as overclocking the processor. I recommend the Antec TruePower Classic 750 watt ($74) or the Rosewill Capstone Modular 750 watt for $94.
4. A bit of a warning about that blu-ray drive: If you intend to use it for watching blu-ray movies, make sure it comes with a software bundle. I looked at the Microcenter reviews and while the grand majority are positive, there are some reviewers that noted that it came without any software while some say it did - you will need that software for watching blu-ray movies because blu-ray is a licensed technology and free media players don't really support it well. You can buy Windows 7/8.1 for less than $20 from reddit's microsoftsoftwareswap.
5. Do you really need that sound card? Onboard audio already has more than enough features for most people. Unless you have something like a high end headset that you know will need a good sound card to drive it, I wouldn't even bother with a sound card at all.

Here's my version of your build. Going with my advice will save you about $450, with virtually no drop in gaming performance. You could put that money toward a better monitor.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($219.88 @ OutletPC)
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-D15 82.5 CFM CPU Cooler ($89.99 @ Mwave)
Motherboard: MSI Z97S SLI Plus ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($110.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-2133 Memory ($133.98 @ Newegg)
Storage: Crucial MX100 512GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($196.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($49.88 @ OutletPC)
Case: Fractal Design Define R5 ATX Mid Tower Case ($106.98 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Antec TruePower Classic 750W 80+ Gold Certified ATX Power Supply ($73.98 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: LG WH16NS40 Blu-Ray/DVD/CD Writer ($56.99 @ Micro Center)
Other: EVGA GeForce GTX 970 (04G-P4-3975-KR) ($359.99)
Other: EVGA GeForce GTX 970 (04G-P4-3975-KR) ($359.99)
Total: $1759.64
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-01-12 01:29 EST-0500

No -- the 3 times I've powered off (shut down from Windows) the last couple days, the next time I've always had to hold down the power button for 30 seconds method, or else it won't turn on normally

But once it does actually power on and boot up, everything seems to run fine.

Alright, well there's a few things you can try, listed from easiest to difficult.

1. Screwdriver trick - touch the end of a flathead screwdriver to the front panel header's power switch pins. This will determine if the switch is faulty. If you can reliably turn your computer on this way, it might just be a bad power switch or cable.

2. Paper clip test - use a paper clip or short length of wire to short two certain pins on the motherboard power cable to see if the power supply will turn on properly. If you can reliably turn on the power supply this way, then it could be the motherboard.

3. Motherboard issues are difficult to troubleshoot. It could be an issue with something shorting out the motherboard. Give the inside of the PC a good dust cleaning. Make sure there are no loose ends in there.

4. Take apart the computer and reassemble it, making sure all power connections are tight and plugged in all the way.

 

[KePoW]

Alright, well there's a few things you can try, listed from easiest to difficult.

1. Screwdriver trick - touch the end of a flathead screwdriver to the front panel header's power switch pins. This will determine if the switch is faulty. If you can reliably turn your computer on this way, it might just be a bad power switch or cable.

2. Paper clip test - use a paper clip or short length of wire to short two certain pins on the motherboard power cable to see if the power supply will turn on properly. If you can reliably turn on the power supply this way, then it might just be the motherboard.

3. Motherboard issues are difficult to troubleshoot. It could be an issue with something shorting out the motherboard. Give the inside of the PC a good dust cleaning. Make sure there are no loose ends in there.

4. Take apart the computer and reassemble it, making sure all power connections are tight and plugged in all the way.

Thanks for taking the time to try to help out with all the details!

Yeah I'm just hoping it's not the motherboard or PS. Changing a PS is normally not an issue in big cases, but I really hate this tight vertical case design I have. It's an incredible pain in the ass to change any cables inside

 

[Mad Season]

OK guys this is what i'm thinking about currently with about a days worth of research. Trying to build a kickass gaming PC that will last for a while and run oculus rift games without any problems.

Anything i'm missing/grossly overpaying for? Any sugestions?


PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-4790K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor ($318.99 @ SuperBiiz)
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-D15 82.5 CFM CPU Cooler ($89.99 @ Mwave)
Motherboard: ASRock Z97 EXTREME6 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($163.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: Patriot Viper 3 Low Profile Red 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-2133 Memory ($149.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Crucial MX100 512GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($196.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($54.98 @ Directron)
Case: NZXT Phantom 820 (Grey) ATX Full Tower Case ($181.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA 1000G2 1000W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($162.98 @ OutletPC)
Optical Drive: LG WH16NS40 Blu-Ray/DVD/CD Writer ($56.99 @ Micro Center)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 - 64-bit (OEM) (64-bit) ($92.00 @ B&H)
Sound Card: Creative Labs Z PCIe 24-bit 96 KHz Sound Card ($89.98 @ OutletPC)
Other: EVGA GeForce GTX 970 (04G-P4-3975-KR) ($359.99)
Other: EVGA GeForce GTX 970 (04G-P4-3975-KR) ($359.99) (Not in there database yet)http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814487088

Total: $2278.85
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-01-12 00:29 EST-0500

Your Current Specs: Old pc is going to my little brother.
Budget: $2500 max monitor and accessories exclusive.
Main Use: Heavy Gaming and emulation.
Monitor Resolution: 1080p currently but i'm gonna snag a ROG Swift ASAP(or wait for a g-sync ips screen..fuck my impatience)
List SPECIFIC games or applications that you MUST be able to run well: This should run most things well for a while, no?
Looking to reuse any parts?: NO
When will you build?: Probably the end of the month.
Will you be overclocking?: Yes

No real need for a sound card for gaming. I'm a heavy gamer and onboard is great nowadays

 

[KePoW]

1. Screwdriver trick - touch the end of a flathead screwdriver to the front panel header's power switch pins.

Oh and just to double-check, for this do you mean the pins on the motherboard itself? Not something around the front panel power button?

 

[jellies_two]

new asrock built pc, bootable usb with 8.1 iso help

"a media driver your computer needs is missing"

then pressing browse, the C, X (usb) and dvd drives appear.

a) why is it missing a media driver if it allows browsing of C X and the DVD ?
b) where is the media driver? is it on the asrock motherboard cd?
c) why does the error say make sure the installation media "contains the correct drivers" if its a stock win 8.1 install dvd.

the bios is set to ide for the hdd, not sata. Should that even be necessary?

edit; i guess windows cant find the hdd and instead of saying that, it talks about media driver vagueness. So why cant it find the hdd when its visible in bios?

 

[RGM79]

Oh and just to double-check, for this do you mean the pins on the motherboard itself? Not something around the front panel power button?

Yes, here's an example. The point is to test if the motherboard will turn on without using the power switch. The screwdriver is metal, and touching the two metal power switch pins on the motherboard will bridge and short them, acting just like you pressed the switch.

Which pins you need to bridge exactly will depend on the model of motherboard you have. Refer to the manual.

new asrock built pc, bootable usb with 8.1 iso help

"a media driver your computer needs is missing"

then pressing browse, the C, X (usb) and dvd drives appear.

a) why is it missing a media driver if it allows browsing of C X and the DVD ?
b) where is the media driver? is it on the asrock motherboard cd?
c) why does the error say make sure the installation media "contains the correct drivers" if its a stock win 8.1 install dvd.

the bios is set to ide for the hdd, not sata. Should that even be necessary?

At what part of installation is it asking for drivers? Is it when you select a hard drive to install Windows to?

Are you using a USB drive or a DVD to install Windows 8.1? You mentioned both in your post. If you are using a USB drive, boot from a USB 2.0 port instead of USB 3.0.

I recommend you set SATA hard drive mode to "AHCI". not "IDE" or "legacy".

After doing that, try again and see if it still complains about needing a driver.

 

[jellies_two]

thanks
after language before product key.
it cant find an hdd target. (my guess)
booting from bootable usb - that part works ok.
also have bootable dvd. same issue.

ps: making the bootable usb was a huge pain: robocopy failed trying to copy bootsect.exe.mui ended up using a freeware tool called winflash. Everytime I dabble in windows sysadmin I get the shaving a yak experience.

 

[RGM79]

thanks
after language before product key.
it cant find hdd.
booting from bootable usb - that part works ok.
also have bootable dvd. same issue.

I've had Windows installers boot from USB 3.0 ports and then complain about not having USB 3.0 drivers. Worth a shot in asking about it.

Have you tried the BIOS settings I recommended you?

 

[jellies_two]

yes, we just tried ahci still no go

hdd and/or ssd visible in asrock bios

but windows installer appears not to find any disk beyond the usb and dvd drive, so starts asking for media drivers...

 

[jellies_two]

disk is in bios.

 

[The Viewtiful One]

GOODSHIT

Thanks a lot! I'l probably just take those savings and dump them into a better monitor/keyboard.Sound cards are finally dead i guess...

 

[RGM79]

ps: making the bootable usb was a huge pain: robocopy failed trying to copy bootsect.exe.mui ended up using a freeware tool called winflash. Everytime I dabble in windows sysadmin I get the shaving a yak experience.

There are official Microsoft tools for making bootable USB installers, don't know if that would make a difference, I kind of doubt it.

yes, we just tried ahci still no go

hdd and/or ssd visible in asrock bios

but windows installer appears not to find any disk beyond the usb and dvd drive, so starts asking for media drivers...

disk is in bios.

I think I know exactly what your problem is. You may have plugged the hard drive into the wrong SATA port on the motherboard.

What model of motherboard do you have exactly? I think you plugged the motherboard into the SATA RAID controller port. Z97 technically only supports 6 SATA ports natively, any extra will come from RAID controllers. SATA RAID controllers don't have native support under Windows like the six built in SATA ports, so that's why the Windows installer is complaining about not being able to detect hard drives. See this picture for an example:

There are multiple SATA ports at the bottom. Try a different SATA port far away from the one you currently plugged it into, not just the one next to it.

 

[jellies_two]

still nada

 

[KePoW]

Yes, here's an example. The point is to test if the motherboard will turn on without using the power switch. The screwdriver is metal, and touching the two metal power switch pins on the motherboard will bridge and short them, acting just like you pressed the switch.

Which pins you need to bridge exactly will depend on the model of motherboard you have. Refer to the manual.

Ok great, will test your steps tomorrow

 

[RGM79]

still nada

You mean a different SATA port still doesn't work? You're sure you plugged it into a native SATA port and not a RAID SATA port? Damn. I'm stumped, then.

 

[jellies_two]

You mean a different SATA port still doesn't work? You're sure you plugged it into a native SATA port and not a RAID SATA port? Damn. I'm stumped, then.

i am asking this guy to check what port he used and try all if necessary and to read the asrock manual about the sata ports, I am helping over sms so things are slow!

 

[jellies_two]

tried both hdd and ssd on sata3_0

still no change, windows installer still does not see them (if that is what the above screenshots are actually saying).

 

[LordAlu]

tried both hdd and ssd on sata3_0

still no change, windows installer still does not see them (if that is what the above screenshots are actually saying).

What motherboard does he have (model make and name)?

 

[RGM79]

tried both hdd and ssd on sata3_0

still no change, windows installer still does not see them (if that is what the above screenshots are actually saying).

I should have asked this earlier, but did he also try installing the drivers from the driver CD? I see in one picture he tried the Intel drivers, did he also try any other drivers labelled "SATA" or "Marvell"?

Also, which motherboard model does he have?

 

[jellies_two]

What motherboard does he have (model make and name)?

asrock pro4 z97

it shows in bios as sata3_0
and he only indicated he found that one driver on the cd. i havent pushed him to search for any others.
why does it even need a driver i thought windows 8.1 would include enough to find a drive immediately at least for purposes of install?

 

[Nostremitus]

asrock pro4 z97

it shows in bios as sata3_0
and he only indicated he found that one driver on the cd. i havent pushed him to search for any others.
why does it even need a driver i thought windows 8.1 would include enough to find a drive immediately at least for purposes of install?

Sorry, I missed the conversation...

Is it showing up in BIOS but not in Device Manager?

If so, I had this issue when I bought my Intel SSD. I created an Ubuntu boot drive and used the disk partitioning tool built into their installation software under the option "do something else"(GParted or something like that.) It formatted the disk and made it visible in Windows when I rebooted. I don't know why that worked, but it was what the Intel Customer Service rep suggested.

Edit: or is the the OS HDD that it can't find?

 

[LordAlu]

asrock pro4 z97

it shows in bios as sata3_0
and he only indicated he found that one driver on the cd. i havent pushed him to search for any others.
why does it even need a driver i thought windows 8.1 would include enough to find a drive immediately at least for purposes of install?

Looking at one of those previous screenshots, the installer looks odd - it shows all the user folders, a DVD and hard drive as well as a USB drive.

Ask him to unplug the DVD drive and the second hard drive from the motherboard, leaving only the SSD plugged in to SATA3_0, then restart the installation by booting from the USB (in the USB2.0 ports in the back, NOT any USB3.0 ports).

 

[Chance Hale]

Any particularly grand deals on larger SSDs? My main two TB drive(os on 120gb ssd) is starting to act up and while I want to keep it for storage I at least need a new one for programs and it might as well be an SSD now that prices have dropped.

 

[NoRéN]

Any particularly grand deals on larger SSDs? My main two TB drive(os on 120gb ssd) is starting to act up and while I want to keep it for storage I at least need a new one for programs and it might as well be an SSD now that prices have dropped.

Hit up BeEatNU In the buy/sell thread. Hell of a deal and he's very trustworthy. I've dealt with him before multiple times.

WTS:

Wii U basic 8gb complete set
Also comes with a 32GB SD card 1 wii mote and 1 pro controller $175 shipped

1TB Samsung 840 evo SSD $325 shipped

GAF Gold so buy with confidence. I ship via usps priority so it arrives fast (2-3 days) and I take PayPal, Google wallet

 

[jellies_two]

Looking at one of those previous screenshots, the installer looks odd - it shows all the user folders, a DVD and hard drive as well as a USB drive.

Ask him to unplug the DVD drive and the second hard drive from the motherboard, leaving only the SSD plugged in to SATA3_0, then restart the installation by booting from the USB (in the USB2.0 ports in the back, NOT any USB3.0 ports).

he has an hdd and an ssd
i asked him just to try the hdd as i read ssds can be tricky
then asked just to run the hdd without the dvd
my guess was if the usb boots and the installer runs, it could not be a usb3 error?
he also tried bootable dvd and got the same error. I could ask him to try again.

i tried another burned copy of the dvd (that is on the usb) on an imac and it went straight through to product key and target select..

where i am now is taking a trip over there tomorrow to try another dvd copy, and see if i can see the problem. I will try usb2 as well, and anything elae you guys come up with.

 

[Chance Hale]

Hit up BeEatNU In the buy/sell thread. Hell of a deal and he's very trustworthy. I've dealt with him before multiple times.

Sent him a PM, thanks!

 

[LordAlu]

my guess was if the usb boots and the installer runs, it could not be a usb3 error?

Not necessarily - USB installing can be finicky. Often times you'll find if you've been using USB3 just switching to USB2 will work.

Does he not have an original disc? If so and you're using a downloaded ISO converted for USB, it's likely the ISO doesn't have proper SATA controller drivers included.

 

[LilJoka]

he has an hdd and an ssd
i asked him just to try the hdd as i read ssds can be tricky
then asked just to run the hdd without the dvd
my guess was if the usb boots and the installer runs, it could not be a usb3 error?
he also tried bootable dvd and got the same error. I could ask him to try again.

i tried another burned copy of the dvd (that is on the usb) on an imac and it went straight through to product key and target select..

where i am now is taking a trip over there tomorrow to try another dvd copy, and see if i can see the problem. I will try usb2 as well, and anything elae you guys come up with.

No, it will boot in USB 3.0 but won't see the drives, use USB 2.0.

 

[jellies_two]

Not necessarily - USB installing can be finicky. Often times you'll find if you've been using USB3 just switching to USB2 will work.

Does he not have an original disc? If so and you're using a downloaded ISO converted for USB, it's likely the ISO doesn't have proper SATA controller drivers included.

no because everything on this site is all about the reddit keys, with accompanying iso download, So thats what i did.

It (the burned dvd) works on other pcs, if that matters, just not the asrock.
the error on media drivers happened first with the bootable dvd, which started the whole bootable usb "solution".

 

[kanuuna]

Will you be doing anything other than playing games? Here's a example build I put together on another Finnish website (verkkokauppa.com), you stand to save around 200€. Unfortunately, I don't know if that website offers assembly or not, but it's just to give you an idea of how much money you can save.

Yeah, I'd have to recommend SLI for 3440x1440.

Thanks for taking the time to put that together and for reviewing my post.
Other than playing games, I'm going to use it for Photoshop and Illustrator a fair amount. I might open Premiere on the rare occasion, but it's not something that I, at least currently, I use a whole lot for anything. As far as I know, Verkkokauppa doesn't do assembly - but I don't suppose making an enquiry about it would hurt.

I went back to Jimms.fi, the website on which I put together that shopping cart from my earlier post. There's some obvious cuts I could make on that original list using yours as reference, though the savings aren't that substantial.

Stepping from i7-4790 4.0Ghz + Sabertooth Z97 MARK 2 bundle to i5-4690 3.5Ghz and Gigabyte Z97X-SLI saves 77€
Stepping from Western Digital 2TB Desktop Performance to Seagate Barracuda 2TB saves 73€ (most obvious cut)
Stepping from Noctua NH-U12S CPU cooler to Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO CPU cooler saves 25€
Stepping from Cooler Master CM 690 III to Fractal Design Define R5 saves 12€

TOTAL SAVINGS: 187€
​

I also managed to find the price they charge for assembly on their site - They'd charge a flat 79€.
As for the CPU here, I'm leaning towards the i7. I'm curious as to why you suggested the i5 in it's stead though. Would you say it's not worth the difference in coin?

 

[yaffi]

Hey everyone,

I'm thinking of replacing my AMD Radeon HD6870. Technically it's still running well, but it's really starting to getting old.

I don't want to spend more than 200€ (I live in Germany).

In the OP two GPUs in that range a recommended: the GTX 760 and the Radeon R9 280. Is there any reason to choose one over the other (the GTX having more ram for example)?

Also is now a good time to make such a purchase?

Here's the rest of my PC:

i5 3470
ASRock H77 Pro4/MVP
8GB Ram
Be Quiet! E5 450W

Oh yeah, the maximal resolution I tend to play games in is 1080p.

 

[kennah]

Save up longer and get a 970

Or wait for the 960

 

[yaffi]

Save up longer and get a 970

Or wait for the 960

Sure, but I don't really want to spend 300+ € just for a GPU.

 

[lordfuzzybutt]

Thanks for taking the time to put that together and for reviewing my post.
Other than playing games, I'm going to use it for Photoshop and Illustrator a fair amount. I might open Premiere on the rare occasion, but it's not something that I, at least currently, I use a whole lot for anything. As far as I know, Verkkokauppa doesn't do assembly - but I don't suppose making an enquiry about it would hurt.

I went back to Jimms.fi, the website on which I put together that shopping cart from my earlier post. There's some obvious cuts I could make on that original list using yours as reference, though the savings aren't that substantial.

Stepping from i7-4790 4.0Ghz + Sabertooth Z97 MARK 2 bundle to i5-4690 3.5Ghz and Gigabyte Z97X-SLI saves 77€
Stepping from Western Digital 2TB Desktop Performance to Seagate Barracuda 2TB saves 73€ (most obvious cut)
Stepping from Noctua NH-U12S CPU cooler to Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO CPU cooler saves 25€
Stepping from Cooler Master CM 690 III to Fractal Design Define R5 saves 12€

TOTAL SAVINGS: 187€
​

I also managed to find the price they charge for assembly on their site - They'd charge a flat 79€.
As for the CPU here, I'm leaning towards the i7. I'm curious as to why you suggested the i5 in it's stead though. Would you say it's not worth the difference in coin?

May I suggest systemastore?
I bought parts from here and a quick look through their service they charge 45 and 70 for basic professional assembly respectively. Back when I bought my parts, they were cheaper than Jimms', though not so much. Sorry I am at work so can't review them for you.
The reason he recommended the i5 is because games nowadays are not utilizing all the cores so well, so the gain from a i7 is not worth the price, yet.
But you are doing some image editing so I would say it might be wise to get the 4790k, like you planned to, instead.

Save up longer and get a 970

Or wait for the 960

Get the 97 when you can.

 

[reKon]

It seems like the 970 GTX is very popular. I haven't been following PC gaming much these days, but has there been any card that has came out in the past year that as popular as the 8600GT was back in the day?

 

[kennah]

Sure, but I don't really want to spend 300+ € just for a GPU.

The problem is both of the cards you are looking at are already 2.5 years old. You may as well save up and get a new card that should last 4 years or more.

It seems like the 970 GTX is very popular. I haven't been following PC gaming much these days, but has there been any card that has came out in the past year that as popular as the 8600GT was back in the day?

The 970 is the new 670 which was the new 8800gt

 

[Robert7lee]

Hi Gaf

Would you bee supspicious of this deal

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2-X-EVGA-...raphics_Video_TV_Cards_TW&hash=item27f634c35d

Although you can buy 2 x gtx 980 for a lot less, what's wrong with this deal?

 

[kennah]

Hi Gaf

Would you bee supspicious of this deal

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2-X-EVGA-...raphics_Video_TV_Cards_TW&hash=item27f634c35d

Although you can buy 2 x gtx 980 for a lot less, what's wrong with this deal?

That's actually a little high for those. 780 Ti and 980 are better buys than a Titan at this point unless you need it for production work.
. Edit. I see it's a black not a regular Titan. Price looks about right. They're basically a 780ti with 6 gigs of RAM. If you need it, get it, but if you don't, the money can be better spent elsewhere.

 

[Robert7lee]

That's actually a little high for those. 780 Ti and 980 are better buys than a Titan at this point unless you need it for production work.
. Edit. I see it's a black not a regular Titan. Price looks about right. They're basically a 780ti with 6 gigs of RAM. If you need it, get it, but if you don't, the money can be better spent elsewhere.

Was thinking about how Important VRAM is going to be, like shadow of mordor (6gb vr am for ultra) and watch dogs, will this be a new trend?

 

[nilbog21]

Guys I posted about my problem with the HTPC I built a while ago, I've tried some people's suggestions, reformatted the SSD and HDD, but the problem is still occuring......

In short, I just get a bunch of BSOD's and random windows errors all the time, always giving me different error codes. Most common ones are: NTSF_FILE_SYSTEM and System_Service_Exception

I think it has something to do with the motherboard and RAM

The RAM is G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800)

The mainboard is GIGABYTE GA-B85M-D3H LGA 1150 Intel B85

In the BIOS, I noticed the DRAM voltage is set to 1.53V when I think it should be 1.5V ? I know some people who have had this problem was related to the DRAM voltage/settings in BIOS. I've posted the BIOS settings here, but I don't really know what I'm doing. I've kind of messed around and changed stuff with no success so I just restore it to default settings. Anyone ever had a similar problem? Any ideas or suggestions? I've been trying to fix this problem for MONTHS now, it's driving me crazy! I wiped the SSD last night but the problem is just re-occuring

I updated the BIOS to F6 so I could overclock the CPU (G3258). Would it be worth it trying to set it back to the default BIOS or something? I'm at a loss here..

 

[kennah]

Was thinking about how Important VRAM is going to be, like shadow of mordor (6gb vr am for ultra) and watch dogs, will this be a new trend?

Ultra is usually a minimal difference from high.

By the time it's a trend or problem new video cards will be out.

 

[snoopeasystreet]

Should I go with an R9 280x for €180 or put the extra money toward a GTX970 at ~€340? Money isn't really a sticking point, but if there's a negligible difference for gaming at 1080p, I might as well put the money elsewhere.

 

[BeEatNU]

is there any equivalent monitor to the Asus SWOG?
I am going ot be rolling SLI 980 and I heard Gsync is wonky with that.
I don't really care much for G-Sync anyways. I would love a 2560x1440 27" monitor with 1ms that has good reviews lol.

 

[roddur]

My motherboard Gigabyte Z97x-sli has 2x4 pin cpu power connector. do both of them need to be connected? my psu (a old one) has one 4 pin connector.