The 'Build Me A PC' Thread

[Mrbloodworth]

I had an evga 8800 fail.

Well, mine was just butt old. I'm also trying to track down a whine somewhere in the case. What made me notice I need an upgrade was Skyrm, and also prepping for Planetside 2. I can certainly Waite, I'm just trying to understand the crazy model numbers thees days. I had honestly thought my 250 was something new! Come to find out, its a relabeled, tweaked 9800++ something. The price range is because, well, I can't just get a video card for me, and not the misses!

However, looking at my system, it seems closer and closer to just making a new rig all together. Any idea when the new cards come out Kitsune?

[Trippy]

Supposedly last week in June but it'll still be out of your price range especially if supplies are low and they are marked up like the 670s and 680s currently are.

The GTX 560 Ti is probably your best bet. The 448 core edition (which is really a slightly slower 570 than a faster 560) is a bit more expensive but if you can find a good deal on one you should consider it.

[Sky]

You should probably only ever look at the GTX lines.

[Mrbloodworth]

Ah, now that I'm home. The power supply is a Corsair TX650w.

That 560 looks fine for my needs, I was asking about the new 600's as I figured when they come out other cards will drop in price some.

[HaemishM]

My GTX 460 has been absolutely perfect for everything I've done with it since I got it. Battlefield 3 on the highest settings, even the Total War games - I only turned down the settings in Napoleon: Total War because it was causing my CPU to overheat. The graphics card handled it all just fine.

[Cyrrex]

I think it was in this thread that we talked about that Yamakasi Catleap WQHD 27" LED monitor...anyway, I used my birthday money and got one, just hooked it up.  First impression: resolution is sharper than shit.  Everything is now tiny by default as a result of the super high resolution.  Don't see any visible pixel errors, and brightness and contrast looks clean and even.

Going to try some Skyrim first to see how that looks.  If it even supports the resolution, but I assume it will!

You can get them down around 300 bucks now, by the way.  Prices have fallen a tad.

[MisterNoisy]

My GTX 460 has been absolutely perfect for everything I've done with it since I got it. Battlefield 3 on the highest settings, even the Total War games - I only turned down the settings in Napoleon: Total War because it was causing my CPU to overheat. The graphics card handled it all just fine.

What are you using as a CPU cooler?  A Hyper 212+ is $30 (currently also has a $10 MiR on top of that) and installs pretty easily.

[veredus]

Looking at getting a new monitor and frankly not sure what the hell I'm doing. Haven't bought one in a long ass time. Have about $300 to spend, was looking at something like this http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824005286 or this http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824001551. Any suggestions?

[Trippy]

Looking at getting a new monitor and frankly not sure what the hell I'm doing. Haven't bought one in a long ass time. Have about $300 to spend, was looking at something like this http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824005286 or this http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824001551. Any suggestions?

The panels on those monitors will be comparable (i.e. both are crappy 27" 1080P TN panels) so it's more about the features (ports, controls, etc.) than the panels themselves. I'm not a fan of that style of Samsung monitor base (aka their "Touch of Color" design) though I'm not sure if the LG base is much better.

Cyrrex posted above a 27" 2560 x 1440 S-IPS monitor for a super low price (for an IPS display). There must be a catch (like it's using 6-bit panels) but if you have a video card that can drive that high a resolution well in games it's something to consider.

[MisterNoisy]

Looking at getting a new monitor and frankly not sure what the hell I'm doing. Haven't bought one in a long ass time. Have about $300 to spend, was looking at something like this http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824005286 or this http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824001551. Any suggestions?

If I had to choose between those two, I'd go with the LG just because it has VESA mount holes.

[Chimpy]

So I decided to get a SSD as Newegg has a promo deal on 256gb Crucial m4 drives for 179.99 which amazon has lowered their price to match. Will just do a fresh install of Windows on there as I had some registry shit happen that totally broke Office and made it unusable, unable to be uninstalled properly in any fashion and unable to be reinstalled due to that.

I may decide tomorrow to go ahead and just buy the rest of the parts for a new build but I will probably wait until I have time to play a game I would need the extra HP for.

[Cyrrex]

Looking at getting a new monitor and frankly not sure what the hell I'm doing. Haven't bought one in a long ass time. Have about $300 to spend, was looking at something like this http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824005286 or this http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824001551. Any suggestions?

The panels on those monitors will be comparable (i.e. both are crappy 27" 1080P TN panels) so it's more about the features (ports, controls, etc.) than the panels themselves. I'm not a fan of that style of Samsung monitor base (aka their "Touch of Color" design) though I'm not sure if the LG base is much better.

Cyrrex posted above a 27" 2560 x 1440 S-IPS monitor for a super low price (for an IPS display). There must be a catch (like it's using 6-bit panels) but if you have a video card that can drive that high a resolution well in games it's something to consider.

Aye, there is a catch or two (or potential catches).  First, you can only get these thing from South Korea, so you have to be willing to take the risk of ordering something that might turn out to be a total stinker and have issues that you will not have a chance of getting fixed.  Second, these monitors have a reputation - say a 5 to 10% chance - that they will have issues with the backlight.  Supposedly, sometimes one side of the screen is noticeably brighter than the other.  Thirdly, the constant disclaimers from the various sellers regarding pixel errors (and how up to 5 is acceptable in Korea) will add to your nervousness.  Fourth, unless you are willing to pay more to guarantee it, you may not always be sure if you are getting the model with the glossy screen and/or the one with the built in speakers.  These usually cost extra in order to be certain, but if you are lucky you might get them anyway.

For what it is worth, I have not had any of these issues.  The panel seems to be in perfect condition, and the backlight is just fine.  I got the glossy screen and the speakers (I didn't care much either way).  The color reproduction is fantastic.  The contrast is fantastic.  The speed seems good, but I haven't really tested it with anything that would push it.  The resolution is incredible.

HOWEVER!  The stand is total shit.  The casing (or whatever you call it) in which the panel is mounted is not terribly high quality.  You only get the DVI Dual Link input, unless you want to fork out another 100 bucks for HDMI.  It won't win any awards for asthetics, that's for sure.

In short, it seems to be a fantastic panel surrounded by a bit of a chintzy exterior.  Some of the internal electronics are probably lower end as well, I imagine, and I hope they will hold together.  I would not buy something like this unless I already had a very good, reliable monitor, because I knew darn well that I was taking a chance.  It appears to have paid off, though.  Skyrim looked so good I wanted to cry.

[Engels]

Read an article on these at OC Gamers or some-such that said that these monitors are the 'throwaway' monitors from LG. Monitors that aren't quite up to spec to distribute to Apple, or NEC or other IPS manufacturers. The irony is that they achieve the lower latency by precisely not giving it the bells and whistles that leading manufacturers give their monitors. No OSD, fewer inputs, etc. You are essentially getting a 'bare bones' IPS from LG that, because it isn't overproduced, suits gamer needs while preserving the color fidelity and viewing angles that make IPS awesome.

If I didn't already have a 24 inch NEC IPS display, I'm be insanely tempted to throw my credit card at the internet's great beyond for a 90% chance of getting a gaming-friendly IPS display that aparently can ALSO do 120Hz if tweaked.

Also, and I know some of you are going to scream heresy at this, IPS monitors really do look better with glossy finish, rather than mat. I have a mat finish on one of mine, and glossy on another, and its just indisputable to me that the glossy looks best, assuming you aren't going to have reflection issues.

[apocrypha]

I got one of these Catleap Q270's a few weeks ago and I love it. I totally agree with Engels about glossy monitors, the picture on them is just flat out superior as long as you can control reflections in your room.

Paid an extra £40 or so to get a "pixel perfect" one from eBay, i.e. it had been checked for and guaranteed <10 dead pixels. Mine turned out to have 0 dead pixels!

It's a gorgeous panel with superb colour, great contrast, deep blacks and clean whites. Calibrated fine with a hardware colorimeter, and it definitely needed calibration for my purposes, it had a distinct red cast out of the box. The build quality of the enclosure is so-so. Very bare bones, and the stand is a wobbly piece of shit, but at least it's a standard VESA mount so you can replace that if you want.

I can't find any drivers for it so it's just installed in win7 as a generic pnp monitor, but I have no problems with it.

[Sky]

So I decided to get a SSD as Newegg has a promo deal on 256gb Crucial m4 drives for 179.99 which amazon has lowered their price to match.

Damn you for tempting me. But I'm still holding out in that price range for a starter violin. Imo, better way to spend it, I've spent too much on technology lately.

And really, how much speed does one need for minecraft? 

[Chimpy]

Decided today after pricing out an entire rig that I would get a modest graphics upgrade as well and string the machine I have out for a bit longer. Bought a HD 7770 which while not supremely fast, is quite a bump up from ye olde 4870 and it will use considerably less juice in the process.

[Cyrrex]

I got one of these Catleap Q270's a few weeks ago and I love it. I totally agree with Engels about glossy monitors, the picture on them is just flat out superior as long as you can control reflections in your room.

Agreed.  I would have been fine with a matte one, but the glossy sure does look nice.  Makes it pop a little better.

[veredus]

Ended up getting the LG.  Like it so far.  Upgraded from a cheap non HD monitor so big difference in pictures quality. 

[Furiously]

Any way other than eBay to get one?

[Salamok]

Any way other than eBay to get one?

You could keep an eye on microcenter, they ordered a batch last month.
http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0384780

This wasn't the catleap, there are a slew of these Korean monitors that use different controller boards, the good catleaps only supported DVI because the bad ones that supported other shit had crap response times.  This microcenter one had display port support which is pretty much necessary in an eyefinity setup.  As far as I can tell the whole binning process for the panels has reached the point where more good panels are being produced than apple and dell can sell so your odds of getting a good panel are decent but that doesn't mean the offbrand stuff is using the same quality of controller board.  Overclock.net was also arranging a group buy at one point if ebay isn't your thing.

[Sky]

The ebay marketing materials are AWESOME.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/New-YAMAKASI-CATLEAP-Q270-LED-SE-27-2560X1440-WQHD-DVI-D-Dual-Computer-Monitor-/120911008070?pt=Computer_Monitors&hash=item1c26db9146#ht_36915wt_1180

[Chimpy]

Never lost chanches!

[Sky]

I have no choice but to be sestive to good performance, because it's monitor's expression!

[Eldron]

Anyone got a suggestion for what fan will work on my ZOTAC GeForce GTX 560 Ti (2 GB)

It's not reference design and can's seem to find someone writing that a certain fan will work. I have regret buying the Zotac alot.

When playing there are no problems with the gfx, but just playing Diablo III or BF3 i am almost afraid to let the kids in the room in fear of they will get sucked into the fan....

[Sky]

How far off reference is it? I recommend http://www.arctic.ac/en/p/cooling/vga/376/accelero-xtreme-plus-ii.html ad nauseum. There's a compatibility chart on the product page. Might have to dig to see how far off reference your card is and whether that affects the Accelero or not. As I've said before, it's barely audible vs the Twin Frozr (which is a great stock cooler) that runs pretty loud....but I would've thought the Frozr quiet compared to any other stock I'd used in the last 10 years.

[MisterNoisy]

The Arctic Cooling Twin Turbo II may be an option as well, It's 560ti compatible and is a good bit cheaper than the 3-fan Accelero models (as well being a hell of a lot easier to cram into a case).

[shiznitz]

The ebay marketing materials are AWESOME.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/New-YAMAKASI-CATLEAP-Q270-LED-SE-27-2560X1440-WQHD-DVI-D-Dual-Computer-Monitor-/120911008070?pt=Computer_Monitors&hash=item1c26db9146#ht_36915wt_1180

Free express shipping from Korea? How. The. Fuck.

[Furiously]

Well.. I just spent a bit more than 400 bucks to get a pixel perfect one.. Hopefully it all works out.

[Chimpy]

Well.. I just spent a bit more than 400 bucks to get a pixel perfect one.. Hopefully it all works out.

God damn these things are tempting.

[Hawkbit]

Well.. I just spent a bit more than 400 bucks to get a pixel perfect one.. Hopefully it all works out.

Let us know how the Air Hores work out. 

I want one, but can't quite justify the expense of a game of roulette right now.  I'm putting off my PC build until a month from now, simply better timing.  Too busy with school right now.

[Chimpy]

So after about having a heart attack after updating my BIOS and not having it recognize any bootable disks, I was able to get Win7 ultimate installed on the SSD and get the new card installed. Still have a few bajillion little things to get installed and setup but I think it is going to be good. New graphics card only uses 1 6-pin versus the 2 my old one did so that alone is a nice boost. Unfortunately I won't get the entire SSD goodness since my board only does sata2. But it is still a lot faster than before with the platters.

[Cyrrex]

Well.. I just spent a bit more than 400 bucks to get a pixel perfect one.. Hopefully it all works out.

Let us know how the Air Hores work out. 

I want one, but can't quite justify the expense of a game of roulette right now.  I'm putting off my PC build until a month from now, simply better timing.  Too busy with school right now.

You all laugh, but I ordered mine from this same motherfucker, complete with Air Hores and High Monitor Pride.  The prices seem to be dropping even further.

And yes, the shipping was free, and rocket fast.  Ordered on a Saturday, and arrived on Wednesday, and that was after a holdover in customs (yeah, you'll want to factor that possibility in  ).  No idea how they pull it off.

[Furiously]

My guess is planes.

[Sky]

What else are they going to use as a front for emigration?

[dusematic]

I built a pretty sweet PC recently. 

Ivy Bridge i5-3570k
GTX 480
8 GB RAM
256 GB SSD
1 TB HDD
NZXT H2 case
MSI Z77A-GD65 LGA 1155


I have to say, having a good mobo that has a slick UEFI and one touch overclocking is pretty nice for an inveterate newb like myself.