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[RGM79]

Also i'm lo

Someone here a few pages back was wondering about the compact X51 with a graphics card upgrade. I can't really recommend it as the X51 comes with a tiny 330 watt power supply that may or may not be able to handle the GTX 980. I'd look into either of the two other desktop PCs.

That said.. the XPS 8700 and Alienware Area-51 both vary quite a lot in price, assuming USD the former begins at $600 and the latter begins at $1700. Hard to compare the two when we don't know how much you're spending or what PC specs we're looking at.

I and most of the others in this thread also don't really recommend the GTX 980 as a purchase on its own because the extra $200 over the GTX 970 only amounts to a small performance increase, some GTX 970 models can even match the GTX 980 with some tweaking.

 

[Vio-Lence]

Setup your case for positive pressure and get some intake filters, dust problem solved.

 

[konstantine7]

Someone here a few pages back was wondering about the compact X51 with a graphics card upgrade. I can't really recommend it as the X51 comes with a tiny 330 watt power supply that may or may not be able to handle the GTX 980. I'd look into either of the two other desktop PCs.

That said.. the XPS 8700 and Alienware Area-51 both vary quite a lot in price, assuming USD the former begins at $600 and the latter begins at $1700. Hard to compare the two when we don't know how much you're spending or what PC specs we're looking at.

I and most of the others in this thread also don't really recommend the GTX 980 as a purchase on its own because the extra $200 over the GTX 970 only amounts to a small performance increase, some GTX 970 models can even match the GTX 980 with some tweaking.

Thanks for the help. Just realized my other post got cut off where I listed specs.

This is the Area-51 I'm considering: http://www.dell.com/us/p/alienware-area51-r2/pd?oc=dpcwc02h&model_id=alienware-area51-r2 ($2200 after discounts)

This is the XPS 8700 I'm considering, and I'll put a 980 in it. http://www.dell.com/us/p/xps-8700/pd?oc=fdcwgs114h&model_id=xps-8700 ($1800 or so after discounts and a 980)

Is the area 51 a lot better than the 8700 with a GTX 980?

 

[TheSpoiler]

What country are you buying in, exactly? Any specific retailers you are looking at? You should be able to save a lot of money. There should be cheaper motherboards you can get, I also recommend a bump up to the 4690K which can overclock for better long term performance with a decent CPU cooler, and faster RAM should be available for only a few euros more.


Both look great for the price, actually. The only thing stopping me from recommending them totally is that they don't have any reviews and in the case of the second one in a more compact case, the product description says both i5 4690K and i5 4430, might be a error they made in the description but I'd ask to check what processor the white PC comes with.

The GTX 760 from the last PC is already a older graphics card on the way out. The GTX 970 graphics cards in these two new PCs are very recent and will last you at least the next few years gaming on AAA titles at 1080p at high settings.



Any motherboard made in the last 6 years or so should be compatible with any standard ATX power supply. What parts do you have exactly?

If your motherboard is so old that your new power supply is incompatible, you will also need a new processor to go with a new motherboard.

Gigabyte GA-78LMT-USB3 is the mobo. AMD FX-4300 3.8 GHz is the processor.

EDIT: I found the problem. There's no 4pin ATX cable. I don't know what that means for me, but there's the issue!

 

[nicoga3000]

I would rather sell it.
The disadvantages are way higher than the advantages.

Fair enough! I'll sell it!

Any suggestions on which 970 to buy? Per my last post, there are a lot of options, and I want to get the best/right one.

 

[HotHamWater]

Are there any mechanical hard drive manufacturers I need to avoid nowadays?

 

[knitoe]

Are there any mechanical hard drive manufacturers I need to avoid nowadays?

No brand is great. Get whatever is cheaper. Just avoid the WD Green line. Their Black, Blues and Reds are fine.

Personally, I buy the much cheaper USB version, crack them open and put the HDD inside the PC. Sure, your warranty is possible void if you mess up the enclosure, but I don't send my HDDs in for repairs anyway. Too afraid of people stealing my personal data.

 

[Dambrosi]

Both look great for the price, actually. The only thing stopping me from recommending them totally is that they don't have any reviews and in the case of the second one in a more compact case, the product description says both i5 4690K and i5 4430, might be a error they made in the description but I'd ask to check what processor the white PC comes with.

The GTX 760 from the last PC is already a older graphics card on the way out. The GTX 970 graphics cards in these two new PCs are very recent and will last you at least the next few years gaming on AAA titles at 1080p at high settings.

Thank you very much! Yeah, I've pretty much got a small laundry list of questions for the company sales rep when I phone them in the morning. I'll post the results here, so that someone else might benefit from the information I glean from them too. Wish me luck!

 

[HotHamWater]

No brand is great. Get whatever is cheaper. Just avoid the WD Green line. Their Black, Blues and Reds are fine.

Personally, I buy the much cheaper USB version, crack them open and put the HDD inside the PC. Sure, your warranty is possible void if you mess up the enclosure, but I don't send my HDDs in for repairs anyway. Too afraid of people stealing my personal data.

Cheers. I don't know why I didn't think of taking an external apart myself, especially as it seems that external drives go on sale more often. Thanks for the tip.

 

[luiztfc]

Guys, I'm buying a used GPU and I want to double check it's alleged age. Is there any program that checks how old is a GPU or should I take the seller's word for it (he doesn't have receipt).

 

[Dambrosi]

Guys, I'm buying a used GPU and I want to double check it's alleged age. Is there any program that checks how old is a GPU or should I take the seller's word for it (he doesn't have receipt).

Which GPU model is it? We should be able to tell you. Inb4 "Don't buy used graphics cards, you...BAKA!" Seriously, tho, don't buy used AMD ones. Ever heard of bitmining? Just don't.

Oh yeah, persuant to the question about using older GPUs as PhysX cards - can someone go into more detail about this? I was thinking along those lines myself until I saw the replies saying no, but I don't know why. Is it simply unnecessary anymore?

 

[The Llama]

Which GPU model is it? We should be able to tell you. Inb4 "Don't buy used graphics cards, you...BAKA!" Seriously, tho, don't buy used AMD ones. Ever heard of bitmining? Just don't.

Oh yeah, persuant to the question about using older GPUs as PhysX cards - can someone go into more detail about this? I was thinking along those lines myself until I saw the replies saying no, but I don't know why. Is it simply unnecessary anymore?

Just don't buy used reference R9 290's. You'll be safe with pretty much anything else.

 

[Yudoken]

Fair enough! I'll sell it!

Any suggestions on which 970 to buy? Per my last post, there are a lot of options, and I want to get the best/right one.

There are a couple of interesting models and you can't really go wrong with almost any of them.
My friend and myself bought a Gigabyte G1 970 which has the best IO and is oc out of the box higher than other cards.
The downsides of the card is the huge size and that it always runs at least on 30% (it's quiet but other 970's don't run at all unless you game heavily).
The MSI 970 Twin froze seems to be a solid alternative if you want a quiet mode and lesser size.
There are other cards which could be interesting so compare them and choose on your preference what you gonna buy.

 

[TheSpoiler]

I kinda figured out my issue. I need an adapter for my power supply because it's a 1x8 pin. Even splitting it doesn't work so I'll have to pick one up.

 

[nicoga3000]

There are a couple of interesting models and you can't really go wrong with almost any of them.
My friend and myself bought a Gigabyte G1 970 which has the best IO and is oc out of the box higher than other cards.
The downsides of the card is the huge size and that it always runs at least on 30% (it's quiet but other 970's don't run at all unless you game heavily).
The MSI 970 Twin froze seems to be a solid alternative if you want a quiet mode and lesser size.
There are other cards which could be interesting so compare them and choose on your preference what you gonna buy.

I don't entirely mind size as I have a lot of space in my case.

Anyone care to explain to me what the hell the difference between the 6 versions are on this listing and which one is actually worth buying?

EVGA Amazon Listing

I've had EVGA before and I like them. It's between that and this:

Gigabyte G1 Gaming

 

[M.Bluth]

^from what I've read, and I could be wrong, the best available EVGA 970 is the SSC here

And yeah, the number of versions EVGA released is simply ridiculous.

 

[TC McQueen]

I don't entirely mind size as I have a lot of space in my case.

Anyone care to explain to me what the hell the difference between the 6 versions are on this listing and which one is actually worth buying?

EVGA Amazon Listing

I've had EVGA before and I like them. It's between that and this:

Gigabyte G1 Gaming

It's mostly coolers/fans and clocks.

 

[DeVeAn]

I own a 570GTX, will I notice a difference in performance with a 970GTX? Only doing 1080p for now.

 

[kennah]

I own a 570GTX, will I notice a difference in performance with a 970GTX? Only doing 1080p for now.

Huge fucking increase. What is your CPU?

 

[Vulcano's assistant]

^from what I've read, and I could be wrong, the best available EVGA 970 is the SSC here

And yeah, the number of versions EVGA released is simply ridiculous.

What's the difference between these and the original 970 SSC other than the ports? as the old ones had two DVI ports

 

[RGM79]

Thanks for the help. Just realized my other post got cut off where I listed specs.

This is the Area-51 I'm considering: http://www.dell.com/us/p/alienware-area51-r2/pd?oc=dpcwc02h&model_id=alienware-area51-r2 ($2200 after discounts)

This is the XPS 8700 I'm considering, and I'll put a 980 in it. http://www.dell.com/us/p/xps-8700/pd?oc=fdcwgs114h&model_id=xps-8700 ($1800 or so after discounts and a 980)

Is the area 51 a lot better than the 8700 with a GTX 980?

If you're interested only in gaming then the XPS 8700 will serve you fine, but the model you linked to has the non-overclockable 4790 instead of the 4790K. If you're going to keep this computer for a long time (5 years, maybe longer?) I'd go for the Alienware as it has the 5820K processor which will stay competitive for games longer and can be overclocked.

Gigabyte GA-78LMT-USB3 is the mobo. AMD FX-4300 3.8 GHz is the processor.

EDIT: I found the problem. There's no 4pin ATX cable. I don't know what that means for me, but there's the issue!

I kinda figured out my issue. I need an adapter for my power supply because it's a 1x8 pin. Even splitting it doesn't work so I'll have to pick one up.

According to the official manufacturer specs for both parts, your Thermaltake power supply has an 8 pin CPU power cable that splits into two 4 pin connectors at the end, and your motherboard has an 8 pin CPU power connector near the VGA port. There shouldn't be a problem, please check your power supply cables again.

You shouldn't be using a 4 pin ATX cable for the CPU. You don't need an adaptor either, as the entire 4+4 pin power cable will fit the 8 pin port. Make sure you're aligning the locking clips and using the correct end.

No brand is great. Get whatever is cheaper. Just avoid the WD Green line. Their Black, Blues and Reds are fine.

Personally, I buy the much cheaper USB version, crack them open and put the HDD inside the PC. Sure, your warranty is possible void if you mess up the enclosure, but I don't send my HDDs in for repairs anyway. Too afraid of people stealing my personal data.

There's no reason to avoid WD green if they are to be used as secondary storage drives. Aren't a lot of consumer external storage drives using slower 5400RPM models which are about the same speed as WD green anyway?

Thank you very much! Yeah, I've pretty much got a small laundry list of questions for the company sales rep when I phone them in the morning. I'll post the results here, so that someone else might benefit from the information I glean from them too. Wish me luck!

Good to hear, it's also a good idea to post a review on Amazon for the model that you do end up buying.

 

[DeVeAn]

Huge fucking increase. What is your CPU?

i5 2500K. Was looking at the Msi card that one any good?

 

[TC McQueen]

What's the difference between these and the original 970 SSC other than the old ones had two DVI ports?

The new SSC has a totally redesigned cooler that's better at cooling the card than the original SC design.

 

[Dambrosi]

Good to hear, it's also a good idea to post a review on Amazon for the model that you do end up buying.

That's the plan. I'd better get some sleep now, I don't wanna get flummoxed by their doubletalk!

 

[magnumpy]

Which GPU model is it? We should be able to tell you. Inb4 "Don't buy used graphics cards, you...BAKA!" Seriously, tho, don't buy used AMD ones. Ever heard of bitmining? Just don't.

Oh yeah, persuant to the question about using older GPUs as PhysX cards - can someone go into more detail about this? I was thinking along those lines myself until I saw the replies saying no, but I don't know why. Is it simply unnecessary anymore?

it's just that the software support isn't there. there's always some new title with physx support though. right now it's some Batman game. there's demos too, which use Physx to it's fullest and are admittedly very cool but you might as well run them with 1 card. and there's all the driver updates and SLI profiles to deal with. it's bad mojo.

here's a list:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_games_with_hardware-accelerated_PhysX_support

 

[Dambrosi]

it's just that the software support isn't there. there's always some new title with physx support though. right now it's some Batman game. there's demos too, which use Physx to it's fullest and are admittedly very cool but you might as well run them with 1 card. and there's all the driver updates and SLI profiles to deal with. it's bad mojo.

In short, it's not that having a PhysX card is bad per se, it's just not worth the hassle and all the extra faffing about due to lacklustre support? Gotcha. Thanks for the explanation.

 

[magnumpy]

In short, it's not that having a PhysX card is bad per se, it's just not worth the hassle and all the extra faffing about due to lacklustre support? Gotcha. Thanks for the explanation.

sure. here's a video of the latest in physx.

 

[knitoe]

There's no reason to avoid WD green if they are to be used as secondary storage drives. Aren't a lot of consumer external storage drives using slower 5400RPM models which are about the same speed as WD green anyway?

It's not the speed, but high failure rate. People were guessing it was due to the excessive head parking from the power saving algorithm. My Green 3TB died after a few months with barely and usage. Thus, better to just avoid them.

 

[RGM79]

It's not the speed, but high failure rate. People were guessing it was due to the excessive head parking from the power saving algorithm. My Green 3TB died after a few months with barely and usage. Thus, better to just avoid them.

Odd, Backblaze reported relatively low failure rates for WD Green 1TB drives, not that their word is the final say when it comes to hard drive testing. However, they may not have had as many WD Green drives as other models, but they still went through 476 of them which I think is enough to provide a decent range for testing.

They saw different use compared to consumer use though, so head parking could have played a role.

 

[Hazaro]

Odd, Backblaze reported relatively low failure rates for WD Green 1TB drives, not that their word is the final say when it comes to hard drive testing. However, they may not have had as many WD Green drives as other models, but they still went through 476 of them which I think is enough to provide a decent range for testing.

They saw different use compared to consumer use though, so head parking could have played a role.

Those are newer drives TMK, the WD Green 2TB were pretty notorious for kicking the bucket more than others (forum anecdotes).

Thanks for all your help in the thread by the way. Obviously haven't been as proactive helping with posters recently.

 

[RGM79]

Those are newer drives TMK, the WD Green 2TB were pretty notorious for kicking the bucket more than others (forum anecdotes).

Thanks for all your help in the thread by the way. Obviously haven't been as proactive helping with posters recently.

The 1TB model WD10EADS has been around for about 6 years or so at the very least, and Backblaze does mention that their WD Green drives at the time of the report were about four and a half years old by average, so assuming they've been buying some 1TB WD Greens recently then at least some of the greens they have in their servers are at least 5 years old. Then again, you could be right - maybe it's the 2TB models crapping out. I haven't done as much research as I should have.

Thanks, Hazaro. Figured I should be more active on the forums. Posting here has been a breeze, I didn't even notice when I lost my junior status about a month ago.

 

[Hazaro]

The 1TB model WD10EADS has been around for about 6 years or so at the very least, and Backblaze does mention that their WD Green drives at the time of the report were about four and a half years old by average, so assuming they've been buying some 1TB WD Greens recently then at least some of the greens they have in their servers are at least 5 years old. Then again, you could be right - maybe it's the 2TB models crapping out. I haven't done as much research as I should have.

Thanks, Hazaro. Figured I should be more active on the forums. Posting here has been a breeze, I didn't even notice when I lost my junior status about a month ago.

Hmm, that's weird. Even in all that time I've never ever seen them bought for personal use, probably because Backblaze actually had cost savings on lower power/RPM usage running 600 of them and all end users just bought the 1TB Blue or the 2TB Green/Black instead.

 

[tsunami643]

The headphone jack on my R4 case got very loose recently so I asked for a replacement. In the process, I finally discovered where all the dust in my case has been hiding.

I was wondering why the hell the inside of my case has been so clean despite running it nearly 24/7 for almost a year.

 

[TheLegendOfMart]

Which GPU model is it? We should be able to tell you. Inb4 "Don't buy used graphics cards, you...BAKA!" Seriously, tho, don't buy used AMD ones. Ever heard of bitmining? Just don't.

Why not?

Assuming they were kept properly ventilated surely in continuous usage you aren't stressing the GPU by constantly heating up and cooling down the components?

A GPU has no moving parts apart from the fan, it won't wear out the more you use it. If anything it just goes to prove the quality of the card if it has been used long term mining.

I bought a used 7950 that has an undervolted bios and was used for mining for over a year and it is still running like a champ.

 

[Nostremitus]

The headphone jack on my R4 case got very loose recently so I asked for a replacement. In the process, I finally discovered where all the dust in my case has been hiding.

I was wondering why the hell the inside of my case has been so clean despite running it nearly 24/7 for almost a year.

gotta clean the filters

 

[RGM79]

Why not?

Assuming they were kept properly ventilated surely in continuous usage you aren't stressing the GPU by constantly heating up and cooling down the components?

A GPU has no moving parts apart from the fan, it won't wear out the more you use it. If anything it just goes to prove the quality of the card if it has been used long term mining.

I bought a used 7950 that has an undervolted bios and was used for mining for over a year and it is still running like a champ.

Actually, in certain extreme situations, yes the cycle of heating and cooling can cause graphics card failure over time.

Read here for the reason of failure and three such examples.

Basically, over time the heating and cooling causes soldered circuits in BGA style soldered graphics card to fail. This is why "baking" a dead graphics card in a oven can sometimes temporarily revive a GPU - the heat allows the solder to reflow and reestablish connections (but not as strong a connection as factory new/refurbished).

That said.. who knows how hard used graphics cards have been pushed when cryptocoin mining? Is the guy showing you his setup? Not to say that buying used/secondhand is a bad idea in general, but maybe don't take the word of the guy selling the card for granted. How is the buyer supposed to know if the card was cared for or not?

 

[Objectively Bad Opinion]

Graphics cards can run for years and years and years before "wearing out" (electromigration). The chips are designed with tolerances in mind to mitigate this effect.

The real issue is that fans will die if you run them nonstop for months on end.

So by all means buy a used GPU. Even if it's a miner, it's still solid and should last a while, provided it has no issues when you receive it. Just expect the fans to die early. As long as you don't mind buying a new cooler for it eventually in the case that it fails, then there's no problem.

 

[TheSpoiler]

According to the official manufacturer specs for both parts, your Thermaltake power supply has an 8 pin CPU power cable that splits into two 4 pin connectors at the end, and your motherboard has an 8 pin CPU power connector near the VGA port. There shouldn't be a problem, please check your power supply cables again.

You shouldn't be using a 4 pin ATX cable for the CPU. You don't need an adaptor either, as the entire 4+4 pin power cable will fit the 8 pin port. Make sure you're aligning the locking clips and using the correct end.

From what I read, I can just split it and use the 4pin connectors. But it's still not powering on. I haven't tried it with both as I thought it could only take the 4pin (the other power supply that it came with is 350w with just a 4pin and it works fine) but I dunno I'll try that in a second and update you.

 

[Matty8787]

So GAF.

A single 980 4gb or SLI 970 4gb?

It is only around £100 more for the 970's but is going SLI worth it?

 

[RGM79]

From what I read, I can just split it and use the 4pin connectors. But it's still not powering on. I haven't tried it with both as I thought it could only take the 4pin (the other power supply that it came with is 350w with just a 4pin and it works fine) but I dunno I'll try that in a second and update you.

Technically yes, a 4 pin CPU power plug will fit in one half of an 8 pin CPU power connector on the motherboard, it's all made to be compatible. However it won't supply as much power as the entire 8 pin plug will, and if the motherboard takes 8 pins it's best to plug in the entire 8 pin (or 4+4 if the connector is split like yours). There's no reason to plug in only half and leave half unused.

I don't know for sure why just plugging in 4 pins did not work at first - maybe you accidentally plugged in the other half (pins 3, 4, 7, and 8 from the below picture) and it didn't work.

So GAF.

A single 980 4gb or SLI 970 4gb?

It is only around £100 more for the 970's but is going SLI worth it?

Are you gaming on 1440p or 4K or something similar? If you are, then SLI GTX 970 is recommended even if SLI doesn't work for all games, at least you'll see a sizable framerate improvement over a single GTX 980 in the games that do work with SLI. What games are you hoping to see improved performance in? Better check if they play well with SLI.

A single GTX 980 isn't such a good buy as it's possible for some GTX 970 models to be tweaked and overclocked to match stock GTX 980 performance. Then again, the GTX 980 is one of the best single card solutions you can currently get and the GTX 980 can also similarly benefit from overclocking as well. Anandtech and HardOCP had good things to say about overclocking the GTX 980.

 

[Matty8787]

Are you gaming on 1440p or 4K or something similar? If you are, then SLI GTX 970 is recommended even if SLI doesn't work for all games, at least you'll see a sizable framerate improvement over a single GTX 980 in the games that do work with SLI. What games are you hoping to see improved performance in? Better check if they play well with SLI.

A single GTX 980 isn't such a good buy as it's possible for some GTX 970 models to be tweaked and overclocked to match stock GTX 980 performance. Then again, the GTX 980 is one of the best single card solutions you can currently get and the GTX 980 can also similarly benefit from overclocking as well. Anandtech and HardOCP had good things to say about overclocking the GTX 980.

I will be playing on dual 1080p 144hz monitors, hoping to add a third at some point.

I will be getting games such as Battlefield Hardline, Witcher 3 etc I don't stick to a certain genre.

 

[michaelius]

So GAF.

A single 980 4gb or SLI 970 4gb?

It is only around £100 more for the 970's but is going SLI worth it?

Neither ?

Get single 970 and wait for gm200/amd 390x and upgrade to that when they are out.

 

[Matty8787]

Neither ?

Get single 970 and wait for gm200/amd 390x and upgrade to that when they are out.

How much are we expecting the gm200 to be? Ain't that the supposed Titan II?

 

[Dambrosi]

Alright, I just gave the ADMI guys a call, and this is what I found about that pre-built PC I was posting about a while back. Here goes:

Intel Core I5 4690K 3.5Ghz Quad Core Processor
ASUS H81M+, 2 RAM slots, 16GB maximum (boo!)
4 USB2.0s on back panel, 4 USB3.0s (2 top panel, 2 back panel)
Corsair or Aerocool or XFX 550w PSU, not modular (boo!), "high quality, excellent cable management"
NVIDIA GTX 970 4GB DDR5 Graphics Card (Gigabyte today, could be different tomorrow)
A-Data* 8GB 1600MHz DDR3 RAM (can be bumped up to 16GB for £60 extra)
1TB Hard Drive (forgot to ask for the brand, d'oh!)
150Mbps PCI WiFi
24x DVDRW
AeroCool Dead Silence Case
Pre-Installed with Windows 8
Pre-tested and fully assembled
12 months return-to-base warranty, all parts have individual warranties (GPU 5 yrs, PSU 4 yrs, etc.)

That mobo has me worried, but the rest seems alright. Still woirth the money, GAF?

 

[CapHarlock]

Any advice would be amazing, my son has this:
Pentium J2900 (2.41GHz)
• 8GB DDR3 1TB HDD
• Windows 8.1 64-Bit
• Intel HD Graphics

He wants to play the new GTA game coming out and use the Dolphin. He has saved up $200 so far, is there anyway to get him to the point with that amount of money to get him there?

 

[RGM79]

Alright, I just gave the ADMI guys a call, and this is what I found about that pre-built PC I was posting about a while back. Here goes:

Intel Core I5 4690K 3.5Ghz Quad Core Processor
ASUS H81M+, 2 RAM slots, 16GB maximum (boo!)
4 USB2.0s on back panel, 4 USB3.0s (2 top panel, 2 back panel)
Corsair or Aerocool or XFX 550w PSU, not modular (boo!), "high quality, excellent cable management"
NVIDIA GTX 970 4GB DDR5 Graphics Card (Gigabyte today, could be different tomorrow)
A-Data* 8GB 1600MHz DDR3 RAM (can be bumped up to 16GB for £60 extra)
1TB Hard Drive (forgot to ask for the brand, d'oh!)
150Mbps PCI WiFi
24x DVDRW
AeroCool Dead Silence Case
Pre-Installed with Windows 8
Pre-tested and fully assembled
12 months return-to-base warranty, all parts have individual warranties (GPU 5 yrs, PSU 4 yrs, etc.)

That mobo has me worried, but the rest seems alright. Still woirth the money, GAF?

The H81 motherboard is a disappointment, it may limit overclocking. Non-modular PSU isn't so bad as long as the case as room for proper cable management, XFX is a good brand, Corsair has some good and bad models, Aerocool I'm not familiar with.

Are they willing to let you configure a similar PC for a similar price so you could maybe pick a different motherboard, or is the Amazon discount pricing something that they don't control?

 

[TheSpoiler]

Technically yes, a 4 pin CPU power plug will fit in one half of an 8 pin CPU power connector on the motherboard, it's all made to be compatible. However it won't supply as much power as the entire 8 pin plug will, and if the motherboard takes 8 pins it's best to plug in the entire 8 pin (or 4+4 if the connector is split like yours). There's no reason to plug in only half and leave half unused.

I don't know for sure why just plugging in 4 pins did not work at first - maybe you accidentally plugged in the other half (pins 3, 4, 7, and 8 from the below picture) and it didn't work.

You know what? The second piece of the 4pin (on the righthand side) doesn't have the right connecting boxes as the motherboard.

So instead of curvehead, square, square, curvehead, it's all curves. So maybe I need that adapter to get it to work? Some guy on Amazon had a problem like this and he had to get a molex to ATX adapter for his issue, so I'll try that today.

 

[Dambrosi]

The H81 motherboard is a disappointment, it may limit overclocking. Non-modular PSU isn't so bad as long as the case as room for proper cable management, XFX is a good brand, Corsair has some good and bad models, Aerocool I'm not familiar with.

Are they willing to let you configure a similar PC for a similar price so you could maybe pick a different motherboard, or is the Amazon discount pricing something that they don't control?

Yes, but at that point, it would be a bespoke item, so i have to email them directly for a quote.

I'm gonna ask for an SLI-capable mainboard with 4 or more RAM slots and 32GB or more RAM capacity. Any recommendations?

Though, if it ends up being more than, say, this - http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-PC-Customiser-Vanquish-Graphics/dp/B00QKKZJF0/ref=sr_1_2?s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1421668732&sr=1-2&keywords=i5+4690k+gtx+970 £855.99 - should I just get the one in the link instead?

 

[roytheone]

I want to upgrade my CPU (my current i7 870 is overheating like crazy in games) but that would also mean I have to replace my motherboard. Is it very hard to do that, or is it manageable? For reference, these are my current specs and planned new specs:

Motherboard: old: Gigabyte GA-H55M-UD2H New: Gigabyte GA-Z97P-D3
CPU: old: I7 870 new: Core i5-4690K
Cooler: old: stock intel new: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO
My case is a silverstone PS03

 

[LilJoka]

Yes, but at that point, it would be a bespoke item, so i have to email them directly for a quote.

I'm gonna ask for an SLI-capable mainboard with 4 or more RAM slots and 32GB or more RAM capacity. Any recommendations?

Though, if it ends up being more than, say, this - http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-PC-Customiser-Vanquish-Graphics/dp/B00QKKZJF0/ref=sr_1_2?s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1421668732&sr=1-2&keywords=i5+4690k+gtx+970 £855.99 - should I just get the one in the link instead?

Well the MSI Z97 PC MATE ATX is pretty basic, dont expect miracles in terms of overclocks. Also has extremely basic rear IO. Depends if its enough for you.

Running GTX 970's in SLI will need some CPU Overclock to keep up to maximise performance.

But ill bet you will never SLI, many users think that its an amazing solution to increase performance.

First you need a decent CPU clock speed, a decent PSU to handle the CPU overclock and dual GPUs, a decent motherboard to get a good overclock and better cooling configuration to keep it all cool.
You are are nearly always better off selling your GPU and upgrading to the next one when the time is right.

Nearly all ATX Z97 boards should have 4 RAM Slots and 32GB capacity.

I want to upgrade my CPU (my current i7 870 is overheating like crazy in games) but that would also mean I have to replace my motherboard. Is it very hard to do that, or is it manageable? For reference, these are my current specs and planned new specs:

Motherboard: old: Gigabyte GA-H55M-UD2H New: Gigabyte GA-Z97P-D3
CPU: old: I7 870 new: Core i5-4690K
Cooler: old: stock intel new: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO
My case is a silverstone PS03

Before upgrading, is the CPU thermally throttling? As this will cause worse performance than expected.

To replace the motherboard, just need to disconnect the SATA Cables, Front Panel connectors, 8pin CPU Power, 24 pin ATX power, and remove the GPU. Its not difficult, the tricky bit maybe front panel connectors but the details are all in the motherboard manual.

Choice of parts are fine, but you should think about mATX or mITX rather than ATX. And a Z series motherboard to allow overclocking the K series chip if thats something that you are looking to do (you should).