Request for help with new build - Page 2

Goku · 2012-07-24, 01:47 AM

NE charges tax to Cali. Figured by the time its in stock he will be ready to order. Unless he wants those games...

Bags · 2012-07-24, 02:12 AM

Originally Posted by Goku

NE charges tax to Cali.

Ahh, didn't catch that.

QuantumMechanic · 2012-07-24, 02:33 AM

Also this time around I wanted to stick with the "standard" Intel + Nvidia combo. I've had an AMD processor before, and I've got an ATI card in this current machine right now.

Whenever a game has GPU-specific bugs, it's usually on ATI cards it seems. I guess they test more on Nvidia as they are more common.

So I'm checking out some PC building how-to videos now. I've done mostly everything before except for installing the CPU on the mobo and installing the mobo into the case. Well, correction. When I was a kid I upgraded my Apple][ to a Apple][+ by pulling out a 48k chip and replacing it with a 64k chip. So how much harder can this shit be? :P

Mutant · 2012-07-24, 03:47 AM

Originally Posted by QuantumMechanic

Also this time around I wanted to stick with the "standard" Intel + Nvidia combo. I've had an AMD processor before, and I've got an ATI card in this current machine right now.

Nothing "Standard" about Intel + Nvidia combo. (They have no love for each other, in fact Nvidia would give its left arm to gain an x86 licence and Intel have ensured they will never get one, and intel destroyed Nvidia's once profitable chipset business)

Just right now i5 3570K + GTX 670 hits the right performance/$ spot for enthusiasts.

Originally Posted by QuantumMechanic

Whenever a game has GPU-specific bugs, it's usually on ATI cards it seems. I guess they test more on Nvidia as they are more common.

This is a bit unfair, both Nvidia and AMD have their own issues just as both have cards fail, While ATI had poor drivers for a period, that was 10 years ago now, I suspect you might hear about AMDs issues more due to the larger green fanboy horde.
What is fair to say though is Nvidia pay(or give lots of free stuff) way more developers and engage in shady non competitive business practices to cripple AMD. or helping developers add useless features just to help their own cards in benchmarks, the irony of that "feature" is next gen AMD(GCN) is much better than nvidia next gen (Kelper) at generating geometry (580 has 16 while 680 has 8 geometry units). so AMD now 'wins' in Crysis 2.

So buy what fits your needs and gives the best value when you want it, Intel / AMD / Nvidia / Other.

Originally Posted by QuantumMechanic

So I'm checking out some PC building how-to videos now. I've done mostly everything before except for installing the CPU on the mobo and installing the mobo into the case. Well, correction. When I was a kid I upgraded my Apple][ to a Apple][+ by pulling out a 48k chip and replacing it with a 64k chip. So how much harder can this shit be? :P

Glad to see you now intend to build yourself, best way for sure.

Goku · 2012-07-24, 08:56 AM

Originally Posted by QuantumMechanic

Also this time around I wanted to stick with the "standard" Intel + Nvidia combo. I've had an AMD processor before, and I've got an ATI card in this current machine right now.

Whenever a game has GPU-specific bugs, it's usually on ATI cards it seems. I guess they test more on Nvidia as they are more common.

So I'm checking out some PC building how-to videos now. I've done mostly everything before except for installing the CPU on the mobo and installing the mobo into the case. Well, correction. When I was a kid I upgraded my Apple][ to a Apple][+ by pulling out a 48k chip and replacing it with a 64k chip. So how much harder can this shit be? :P

Both Nvidia and AMD have potential issus in games. AMD just has the worse reputation due to having pretty bad drivers years ago. I had AMD cards for since 2009 in my computer. Just fall of last year I had a 560 Ti in there. I noticed no difference in driver quality or game bugs. Now if you are talking about multi gpu Nvidia does have the upper hand there, I will admit that. Go for what you want of course, but don't be blinded by myths.

QuantumMechanic · 2012-07-25, 05:54 PM

Well I pulled the trigger and ordered the GPU that Rbstr suggested (Gigabyte GTX 670). I checked out some reviews and they were very favorable of this card amongst all GTX 670s, so between that and the fact that PS2 was running on GTX 670's at E3 I'm pretty happy with this choice.

Screw Micro Center, I'm going to swing by Fry's tonight and see how many of the parts I can pick up locally. Time to get this project rollin!

QuantumMechanic · 2012-07-25, 11:29 PM

Ok, I need help with one more thing. I just stopped by Fry's, and it looks like they have all the components I need. And they will match Amazon's prices (including shipping).

But they don't have that ASRock Z77 motherboard. In fact they don't have any ASRock motherboards at all.

They do have plenty of Asus, Gigabyte and MSI motherboards though. AIX, Z77 supporting the 1155 Core i5 3570k processor that I'll get.

But motherboards are probably my weakest area, I simply don't know enough yet to be able to pick out a good one that is compatible with my processor. USB 3.0 would be nice enough, I need SATA of course, and an integrated intel graphics chipset would be nice (so I can start up windows before I install the graphics card), but I don't know if that's standard or not. I'm assuming a fast network interface is standard.

So any suggestions for an Asus, Gigabyte or MSI motherboard that will work well for me? Here's what Fry's has: http://www.frys.com/category/Outpost.../Motherboards/

Goku · 2012-07-25, 11:43 PM

Quantum are you going to overclock? If not just get the 3450 with a h77 or B75 mobo and call it a day.

QuantumMechanic · 2012-07-26, 12:29 AM

I'm not going to overclock at first, no. But now that I'm getting into all this crud I want to leave that door open. I might do it in a couple of years when I feel like I need a bit of a speed boost.

Goku · 2012-07-26, 12:56 AM

The MSI Z77-G43, Gigabyte Z77-U3H, and Asus Z77-V LX are all good budget choices in my opinion. Choose whichever looks best cosmetically to you.

Rbstr · 2012-07-26, 01:28 AM

All Z77 motherboards should have at least 2 USB3.0 slots and 2 SATA 6gb/s ports, IIRC. You'd probably have at least 4 more of USB2 and 2-4 more SATA 3gb/s on an ATX sized board. The fancier the board the more USB3.0 and SATA 6 you'll get. Plus SLi stuff and fancy heatsinks and expensive branding.

Onboard graphics is in all Z77s (actually it's part of the CPU you're buying, the motherboard simply has to provide support and the ports) and basically all motherboards made will have integrated sound and gigabit ethernet.

The ASRock was the suggestion because it's pretty much the cheapest and not from some shady company. They're a spinoff of Asus and they've kept up to Asus's decent reliability reputation. MSI and Gigabyte are both also well-regarded. The important part is getting the right chipset. You can't really go wrong with any of the three. Your basic Z77 from anyone has probably got all you want.

(so I can start up windows before I install the graphics card)

Even though you could, I can't see much reason for wanting to do this.

QuantumMechanic · 2012-07-26, 02:15 AM

Thanks again for the help, guys. This is turning out to be a good learning experience for me.

Those boards all seem to basically deliver the same functionality in terms of number of USB, SATA and PCI slots, etc. Interesting that it says they all support Crossfire (no SLI? Not that I require it).

So I'm going to go with the MSI Z77A-G43. Mainly because of it's supposedly easy to use BIOS interface (aren't they all), but moreso because it has "OC Genie II". Yes, this is overclocking for noobies.

As this guy with the great accent will tell you (while rambling on for 3 minutes with his friend "Mr Green Ogre"), this mobo lets you overclock with the push of a single button. Now that's something I'd be willing to try.

Bags · 2012-07-26, 02:28 AM

When I used the built in auto OC with my motherboard (an MSI z68-something other) it gave a very poor OC because it made the voltage very high so it got very hot. Just a word of warning.

QuantumMechanic · 2012-07-26, 02:45 AM

Heat is already a concern of mine. I've got my current machine inside a "PC cubby-hole" that is built into my desk. Problem is, there's very little air circulation in there (even with the cubby hole door open).

As a test, last night I closed that door and while playing Witcher (1, not even 2) the core temp went up to 84 degrees.

My other concern is sound. I don't like wearing headphones all the time, and I don't like having a noisy computer drowning out the sounds of my games. Closing the cubby hole door is good for sound and bad for heat. Keeping the door open is good for heat and bad for sound :P

And the new case I'm getting is a lot better ventillated but most likely noisier (Antec Three Hundred Two).

I'm hoping a 620 watt PSU will handle the extra power requirement from overclocking ok. The GTX 670 recommends only 550w.

Goku · 2012-07-26, 08:36 AM

You better get a aftermarket cooler like the Coolermaster Hyper 212+/EVO at the very least.