Computer Build Resource Thread

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nam nam Sweden. July 07 2011 06:46. Posts 4536

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On July 07 2011 05:34 JingleHell wrote:
Also, being 8 years old, there's no guarantee of it's continued function. They do eventually die, and when they do, byebye data.

Definatly. I don't know of much of a difference in performance there is but I've had 2 HHDs go out of old age (~5 years old). Considering a new HDD isn't that expensive I would defiantly buy a new one rather than reuse an 8 year old.

troynewell47 July 07 2011 08:37. Posts 19

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My RAM I was going to buy sold out.. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231311

I am looking at this RAM http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231426 and isn't it the exact same thing?

skyR Canada. July 07 2011 08:37. Posts 11169

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Yes it is. It's just a different heatspreader design which doesn't really matter unless you are anal about the looks of it.

Krikan Norway. July 07 2011 10:05. Posts 422

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Hmm, quick question. Looking at two different Radeon HD 6970 graphic cards one costs about 20$ more than the other, and the only difference I can see is that on one it says that it has 800MHz. Other than that, they have the exact same description.
What's the difference between the two?

Last edit: 2011-07-07 10:06:01

Naniwa on making the MLG finals: Uh, it's ok.

JingleHell United States. July 07 2011 10:08. Posts 11262

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On July 07 2011 10:05 Krikan wrote:
Hmm, quick question. Looking at two different Radeon HD 6970 graphic cards one costs about 20$ more than the other, and the only difference I can see is that on one it says that it has 800MHz. Other than that, they have the exact same description.
What's the difference between the two?

Some people do factory OC's on cards and charge you extra for what you can do in 30 seconds with free utilities. Not sure off the top of my head what reference speed on that card is though.

Only two things you should consider spending more on for a GPU. Non-reference cooling and support.

Last edit: 2011-07-07 10:09:05

http://jinglehelltech.blogspot.com -- Pics of my rig in Profile

Lmui Canada. July 07 2011 10:22. Posts 1887

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It's probably not a factory overclocked since the 6970 according to AMD's webpage

http://www.amd.com/us/products/desktop/graphics/amd-radeon-hd-6000/hd-6970/Pages/amd-radeon-hd-6970-overview.aspx

should have up to an 880 mhz core clock.

Does it have a different cooler? 2gb/1gb of RAM? if there isn't any major difference like that, get the cheaper one.

CuraOh Chile. July 07 2011 12:28. Posts 81

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what graphic card about $100~$130 you recomend for a i3 2100? without MIR

Last edit: 2011-07-07 12:28:34

skyR Canada. July 07 2011 12:45. Posts 11169

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A Radeon HD5770

CuraOh Chile. July 07 2011 12:46. Posts 81

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any in particular?

skyR Canada. July 07 2011 12:55. Posts 11169

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No. Radeon HD5770s are essentially the same, they just vary in terms of the cooling solution and clock speeds. Just get the least expensive one from a preferred brand.

DrTJEckleburg United States. July 07 2011 13:36. Posts 1059

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Hi everyone, I decided it was time to upgrade my AMD 3200+ and nVidia 6800GT that resulted in StarCraft II giving me the warning that I was under the minimum requirements upon installation(I still play, it just runs like shit.)

My budget is around $750, though I have some flexibility if a major upgrade would run me up to $800. Right now I'm running at 1280X1024, but my monitor has an issue where it flickers indefinitely after turning it back on(I have not shut it off in weeks, evidently there is a transistor issue that I can easily fix according to some other tech forums, although buying a new one may be a better option.) The most demanding thing I will use this new machine for is SC2 most likely, the last computer I built(bought) was in 2006. I have no interest in overclocking, a second GPU, and I mostly buy from Newegg.

I do have Windows 7 from a friend.

I've picked out some parts but I feel like I have really fallen out of the loop since the last time I built a computer I was comparing Radeon 9800 to nVidia 6800 and AMD 64s to Pentium I don't even know.

Case

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129066

GPU

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127576&cm_re=HD_6850-_-14-127-576-_-Product

Power Supply

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817207012

Main Board

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130237

CPU

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103849

RAM I have no clue on...I don't need much storage space so a fast 500GB - 1TB would probably be fine.

Thanks a lot in advance.

Im pretty good at whistling with my hands, especially when Im holding a whistle.

skyR Canada. July 07 2011 13:41. Posts 11169

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You don't want an AMD processor because Intel processors outperform them in gaming at every price point as seen in several billion articles such as these two: http://www.anandtech.com/show/4083 and http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/cpu/display/core-i5-2500-2400-2300.html

If you're not overclocking, get a Core i5 2400 and a H61 or H67 motherboard such as the Asrock H61M U3S3:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115074
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157236

Unfortunately for you, Newegg decided to be a douche and raise the price of the core i5 2400 so I'd try and purchase it from another retailer if possible.

Memory has little impact on gaming performance as seen in this article: http://techreport.com/articles.x/20377/3 , you just want the least expensive DDR3 kit available which is usually 1333MHz cas9 4GB for around $35 or 8GB for around $70.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820146748

Last edit: 2011-07-07 13:43:20

Dyth July 07 2011 14:43. Posts 2

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Hey

I want to be able to stream SC2 (i play on lowest setting's) in decent quality (720p).I do not want to overclock anything if possible and I will be having the parts shipped to Canada. I am on a very tight budget (poor university student) so i want to spend the bare minimum necessary to meet my goal ($200 or less). I am willing to wait for a good deal in order to save money but i am not very familiar with how many sales there are for computer parts. I have no plans for upgrading in the future.

My current setup is as below:

TR2-430W
ASUS P5K-E
NVIDIA GeForce 8600 GTS
Intel Core 2 CPU 6420 2.13 GHz
2G Ram
1400 : 900 Monitor Resolution
Windows 7

My current thoughts were to replace my mobo, cpu and ram with something like this:

Mobo
CPU
RAM

Any advise would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks a lot.

Last edit: 2011-07-07 14:44:32

skyR Canada. July 07 2011 14:55. Posts 11169

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Newegg.com does not ship to Canada and Newegg.ca is terrible. I suggest you look into purchasing from NCIX, Canada Computers, Memory Express, or another Canadian retailer.

Those components would be able to achieve what you're looking for but you're much better off just finding a used Core 2 Quad Q9200, Q9400, Q9550, etc.

samiamquinn Australia. July 07 2011 16:28. Posts 135

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I've finally convinced my dad that letting me buy a computer isn't a stupid idea so I'm looking to order my parts pretty soon. My final budget is $1200 including a screen and operating system ($300) so I have around $900 to spend on the rest. I'll be using a 1920 x 1080 resolution and I do plan on overclocking.I want to be able to play games comfortably with good graphics and use Photoshop and some video editing software without problems. Could someone please suggest a build for me?

Edit: I'd like to order the parts on this website http://pccasegear.com/. I also like the look of this case http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=25_31&products_id=11207, is it any good?

Last edit: 2011-07-07 16:29:47

Dyth July 07 2011 16:32. Posts 2

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Hey

Thanks for the post skyR. I took your advice and found a used Core 2 Quad Q9550 for a $150.

I am little bit concerned about buying something like a processor used though. Should i make sure it has a warranty or something?

Thanks again

Legatus Lanius July 07 2011 16:55. Posts 2135

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hey guys, any advice on a good set of headphones for blocking out external noise? i dont really give a toss about the quality of sound coming out of them, i just want them to block as much noise out as possible.

can you get headphones that just block noise, similar to what kespa has the sc players wear over their earbud headphones? if they are better ill buy those coz ive got a pair of el cheapo earbud headphones. i live in australia and will probably buy from PCCG but anywhere in aus (or overseas if they export) should be fine

P.S how much can i expect for something like this of decent quality? im not the kind of guy that gives a fuck about peripherals so i dont really want to be forking out 200 dollars for some plastic shit over my ears

"He's the Triple H of Brood War." - Ribbon on Flash | "He's more like the John Cena of Brood War." - Aus)MaCrO on Flash

HuggyBear Australia. July 07 2011 17:58. Posts 371

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On July 07 2011 16:55 Legatus Lanius wrote:
hey guys, any advice on a good set of headphones for blocking out external noise? i dont really give a toss about the quality of sound coming out of them, i just want them to block as much noise out as possible.

can you get headphones that just block noise, similar to what kespa has the sc players wear over their earbud headphones? if they are better ill buy those coz ive got a pair of el cheapo earbud headphones. i live in australia and will probably buy from PCCG but anywhere in aus (or overseas if they export) should be fine

P.S how much can i expect for something like this of decent quality? im not the kind of guy that gives a fuck about peripherals so i dont really want to be forking out 200 dollars for some plastic shit over my ears

Well if you listen to music on your PC, Good music headphones also double as good gaming headphones.

Headphonic is Australia's specialised headphone store. Chuck us a post in the forums and the staff and owner would be glad to give you a recommendation.

http://headphones.com.au/

If it were me, I'd give the SRH840's a look. http://headphones.com.au/psingle?productID=446

Even the SRH440's are a good pick http://headphones.com.au/psingle?productID=445

Last edit: 2011-07-07 18:05:32

"Sleeping with SeLeCT is Standard. Once you've slept with Day9 everything else is just ..." - CatZ

Legatus Lanius July 07 2011 19:39. Posts 2135

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On July 07 2011 17:58 HuggyBear wrote:

Show nested quote +

thanks bro, ill defo check it out

"He's the Triple H of Brood War." - Ribbon on Flash | "He's more like the John Cena of Brood War." - Aus)MaCrO on Flash

skyR Canada. July 08 2011 01:03. Posts 11169

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On July 07 2011 16:32 Dyth wrote:
Hey

Thanks for the post skyR. I took your advice and found a used Core 2 Quad Q9550 for a $150.

I am little bit concerned about buying something like a processor used though. Should i make sure it has a warranty or something?

Thanks again

Most manufacturers including Intel have non-transferable warranties. The Core 2 Quad line of processors is nearly four years old so even if the warranty was transferable, the three year warranty provided by Intel will have already expired or soon to be expired.

Use common sense when you are purchasing used. Don't buy from someone with no reputation and if it's too good to be true, it usually is.