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Agent Escalus posted:I suppose I might as well post what the semi-final parts list shall be for feedback and advice (prices are in CDN and I intend to poke around; these are just the current prices from Memory Express): That case is not a bad one, per se but it's really ugly and I think you can do better for $80 - the thread favourite obsidian 350D should be cheaper, and is a better case, as an example. Definitely try and get a motherboard with 3 chassis fan headers, or a fan controller (some cases have a built in fan controller). 3 fan headers on a motherboard is kinda a rarity except for expensive overclocking oriented motherboards, so a fan controller would be the more cost effective option. Your Soundcard: My opinion on soundcards is that they are overkill for people with crappy speakers, but not that great in the grand scheme of things for people with serious speakers. If I knew exactly what you had I could be more specific, but my advice would be: 1. Higher quality motherboards now come with really good in built sound, as good as or better than cheap soundcards - If we're talking a couple hundred dollars worth of speakers do this. 2. Soundblaster isn't that good. If you have more than a couple hundred dollars worth of speakers and want a soundcard, get something like an Asus Xonar Essence. 3. If we're talking serious sound gear, like >$500, forget about soundcards and get a proper external DAC, connected via Optical (check that your board has a toslink port, most do these days). Something like this would be your entry level choice: http://audioengineusa.com/Store/Digital-Audio-Converters/D1-24-Bit-DAC Do not buy that power supply. There is no such thing as good 750w power supplies that cost that little, and thermaltake is not known for making good power supplies. You want a 450w power supply, preferably made by seasonic, or one of the others listed in the OP Kingston SSDs are crap. Unless you have special needs, there is really no reason to buy anything other than a Samsung 840EVO, they outperform anything else on the consumer market, and are super reliable. Intel SSDs are almost as fast and can potentially be better in special circumstances (like not having TRIM support) but this isn't you. You haven't said what type of Western Digital hard drive that is - If It's a green, I strongly suggest getting red instead; greens have terrible performance for gently caress all power savings. If it's a black, be mindful that it will be much noisier for only a marginal performance gain. Blu-ray disks come with tons of DRM, so they require special media centre software to decode them for playback. Often you'll need to buy new versions to support newer disks with newer DRM. Arcsoft Total Media theatre is my favourite, and it's relatively affordable. Some drives come bundled with software (but it's often a trial version or several versions out of date). The Lord Bude fucked around with this message at 13:27 on Apr 15, 2014 |
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Apr 15, 2014 13:25
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Welmu posted:Haswell Refresh parts have already been priced and neither they nor base hardware features are likely to significantly fluctuate in the next few months. As I said, integrated graphics are fine until Maxwell. TSMC is already fabbing 20nm chips if not yet in significant quantities. Sounds like you got it all figured out. What are your concerns then?
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Apr 15, 2014 13:30
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Welmu posted:Haswell Refresh parts have already been priced and neither they nor base hardware features are likely to significantly fluctuate in the next few months. As I said, integrated graphics are fine until Maxwell. TSMC is already fabbing 20nm chips if not yet in significant quantities. Which does nothing for everything else that's subject to change. That said, if you intend to bind yourself to this: The sound card is only necessary if you have really nice headphones (the kind they used to talk about as 'worth buying' and being triple-digit prices in TA/VA), and you might still want it to be a USB sound card to isolate it from in-case EMI. Xonar_DGX is the go-to if it has to be inside your case, though. SSD: 840 Pro is overkill for most purposes, including yours until you provide a good reason otherwise (in which case you'd want the 840 EVO), and not enough when it isn't overkill (in which case you'd want the Intel 530). And all three models have a price/performance sweet spot around 250 GB and max out performance around 500 GB, and that's down to how SSDs are built and controlled these days - under 250 GB, and soon including 250 GB, they just don't populate the entire board with NAND chips, which cuts I/O bandwidth proportionally. HDD: Western Digital Greens pursue efficiency over all else, including performance and co-operation with OS power management. You want a Western Digital Red. Blues have limited applications as well (not Blacks because spindle noise will annoy you), but if it's an OS, MMO or badly-coded open world game, you'd want to run it off an SSD, and anything else probably won't care if it's run off Reds. That had better be a nice case, and a five-year-old custom water cooler probably needs to be replaced either way. Knowing what we do about Devil's Canyon (which is also subject to change until actual reviews come in), you'll be able to get by even overclocked in earnest with the kind of coolers listed in the OP. You'll need to come back here for motherboard evaluations, but stuff like the CPU itself, RAM and power supply is pretty on. dont be mean to me fucked around with this message at 13:42 on Apr 15, 2014 |
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Apr 15, 2014 13:35
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Grumio posted:Hi thread, just wanted to say thanks for the great resource. I haven't built a computer in almost a decade, so I've been trying to catch up on all the modern hardware. Based on this thread's recommendations, here's what I've put together for a work/gaming PC. Not a lot of surprises, but any comments or critiques are welcome. It's almost as if you read some sort of guide, like, at the beginning of the thread or something, and were able to use it to make correct selections for everything. Your GPU: I think the 760 is ideal for 1080p gaming. I'd stick with it. Personally, I think stock coolers are loud and obnoxious, and I suggest replacing it with something better, like the 212evo. The Noctua U12s costs a little more but is better - cooler and quieter - and is also much much easier to install, which you may care about if you are a novice builder. Otherwise save money and get the hyper212 A 450w power supply is adequate for your system. The Antec true power classics are built by seasonic, so quality is not an issue, besides them not being modular which makes keeping cables tidy a pain in the arse. Feel free to buy any PSU listed under 'Seasonic' at PCCasegear.
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Apr 15, 2014 13:37
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I hate how much hardware costs in Australia. I don't have a lot of other options for sourcing, as shipping here is too expensive. I'm saving a bunch as it is because I can pick up these parts directly from the stores. I haven't picked out a monitor yet, but I'd rather see a few in person before deciding.
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Also if you are Aussie, nanoxia cases are a cracking deal in Australia. You pay roughly equal prices AUD-USD, and that isn't even taking into account the higher general prices in Australia. For example you can get a DS4 (keeping with mATX) for a full 50 dollars cheaper than that 350D, or you could get a DS1 (midtower ATX) or DS5 (full tower ATX) for 15-20 bucks cheaper. Check them out, they are great cases
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Apr 15, 2014 14:36
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I'd like to add a little to gaming wireless mice. In the past if I spent $120 on a "gaming" wireless mouse I'd consistently be disappointed. I'd probably guess correctly that my standards in first person shooters are towards the loftier ends of the scale. However today, while I still notice the difference, the actual effect that a cord has on gameplay is finally roughly equal to the tiny effect wireless has on gameplay - to me. And I really don't like cords so wireless is a no brainer. Again, that's for me. I still notice the difference but its just too minor to care anymore. edit: I am talking about the "$100" mouse category even if they aren't really $100 usually anymore. Ignoarints fucked around with this message at 14:48 on Apr 15, 2014 |
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Apr 15, 2014 14:46
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Have you tried the G602? I don't notice a difference at all coming off my deathadder.
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Apr 15, 2014 14:49
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There's EDIT: no real mouse megathread but this one got turned into mousechat long ago. I stuck with MX518s for several years, until they became the G400. I ended up switching to the G500 and I couldn't be happier, and I don't know what I'll do if an earthquake or something destroys it and I have to look at the G500S or its competitors. Also Chrome decided to read all lateral scrolling as vertical scrolling at some point because damnit Google. Note on gamepads: Yes, if you want something failsafe, the Xbox 360 wired controller is a hell of a default, but it's by no means the only option. Xbox 360 Wireless controllers require batteries (read: Sanyo Eneloops). Also you'll need the kit (good luck finding one) or a receiver puck for existing controllers (also good luck) because the proprietary port on top is just for charging and for show. Xbox 360 controllers of both stripes often don't play well with DirectInput games and emulators (I suppose that's what X360CE is for), and Xbox 360 wireless controllers don't work with as many games as Xbox 360 wired controllers do (and nothing can help you there). Logitech makes the F310 wired gamepad and F710 wireless gamepad; both DirectInput/Xinput switchable, and the F710 has turbo to boot (but also an extra $20 on its tag and forced wireless). Not bad alternatives to the 360. If you're feeling adventurous: + Unofficial drivers have made Sony's DualShock 3 work on computers over both mini-USB and Bluetooth. DirectInput vs Xinput can be set in server. + The DualShock 4 is already DirectInput compatible over micro-USB, but unofficial drivers open up touchpad and gyro controls and Xinput and Bluetooth compatibility. This is probably the overall best controller available for ... anything, really, if you can deal with the price and the effort to set it up. - Earlier PlayStation controllers, and other console controllers, are often compatible with adapters, but also often require unsigned drivers (which are a headache on 64-bit Windows and possibly a nightmare with Secure Boot enabled) and/or are not particularly well-tested or well-validated, and are almost certainly not Xinput-compatible, and are not recommended. Xbox One controller drivers are still vague Microsoft promises away and no one knows if you'll need to buy all-new Windows-specific controllers or whether they'll work with Xinput or just Store games. Microsoft's quashed attempts at unofficial drivers so far (which, if found, are still in the unsigned and not terribly functional phase). I would not try to make an Xbox One controller a primary or guest gamepad. This probably isn't an exhaustive list of gamepads and doesn't try to cover racing wheels, flight sticks or other controllers, but anything beyond this that's actually useful will be a welcome surprise. dont be mean to me fucked around with this message at 15:05 on Apr 15, 2014 |
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Apr 15, 2014 14:51
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The Lord Bude posted:Have you tried the G602? I don't notice a difference at all coming off my deathadder. No, I wanted one but reports from some users about input lag (while minor, and only relative to more expensive mice) makes me want to avoid it. It's a shame because the design and battery life are extremely appealing. Would it really matter? I dont know. I am obsessively overly sensitive to mouse input. I'm riding on a G700 that's slowly failing me until either I find something that at least equals its performance or just get another 700. My battery life in that mouse is just so bad though. I have a stack of eneloops constantly charging because it dies in 2 or 3 hours.
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Apr 15, 2014 15:02
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The Lord Bude posted:A 750ti would suit you fine by way of gpu, and just get a 400-450w PSU, from the brands we recommend in the OP. You also don't need a case that large if you're getting an mATX mobo - get a fractal design Define Mini or Nanoxia DS4 if you want to stay with quiet, or a Fractal Design ARC mini/corsair Obsidian 350D for better cooling. Thank you for the advice! I actually haven't picked out the headphones and speakers I'm going to use yet but my intention is in fact to spend at least a couple hundred dollars, because I really want faithful and high quality playback, particularly from the headphones, for doing my recording/editing. I'm also trying to improve my signal/noise ratio as much as possible and it was my understanding that a discrete sound card was very helpful for that as well.
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Apr 15, 2014 16:26
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Sir Unimaginative posted:There's EDIT: no real mouse megathread but this one got turned into mousechat long ago. I stuck with MX518s for several years, until they became the G400. I ended up switching to the G500 and I couldn't be happier, and I don't know what I'll do if an earthquake or something destroys it and I have to look at the G500S or its competitors. Xbo360 controllers also have horrible D-pads (and imitation 360s like the razer controller are even worse) so get something else if your reason for wanting a controller is emulating old 2d sidescrollers or something.
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Apr 15, 2014 16:28
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Ignoarints posted:No, I wanted one but reports from some users about input lag (while minor, and only relative to more expensive mice) makes me want to avoid it. It's a shame because the design and battery life are extremely appealing. Would it really matter? I dont know. I am obsessively overly sensitive to mouse input. I'm riding on a G700 that's slowly failing me until either I find something that at least equals its performance or just get another 700. I just mentioned this in the mouse thread but my g602 mouse that I bought in january is still on its original batteries.
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Apr 15, 2014 16:29
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stinkles1112 posted:Thank you for the advice! I actually haven't picked out the headphones and speakers I'm going to use yet but my intention is in fact to spend at least a couple hundred dollars, because I really want faithful and high quality playback, particularly from the headphones, for doing my recording/editing. I'm also trying to improve my signal/noise ratio as much as possible and it was my understanding that a discrete sound card was very helpful for that as well. In that case read further down from my original response where I made a more detailed post to another guy about sound stuff.
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Apr 15, 2014 16:29
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Sir Unimaginative posted:+ Unofficial drivers have made Sony's DualShock 3 work on computers over both mini-USB and Bluetooth. DirectInput vs Xinput can be set in server. I have a DualShock 3 controller, so this is interesting to me. Would something like this be all I need? http://www.amazon.com/Cirago-Blueto...s=bluetooth+edr
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Apr 15, 2014 16:42
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You could go cheaper than that, or better quality than that, or get one of these.The Lord Bude posted:Xbo360 controllers also have horrible D-pads (and imitation 360s like the razer controller are even worse) so get something else if your reason for wanting a controller is emulating old 2d sidescrollers or something. Oh hey, I forgot Razer. Yeah, the Sabertooth costs 80 bucks (so 2 360 controllers or a DS4 and an F310), it's arranged like a 360 controller, and it looks like this. Also Razer is the company at the center of the DRM Mouse scandal, and even though they've tried to make the software prettier and more pleasant it's still their M.O. so I don't understand why people in here would give them actual dollars for any products.
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Apr 15, 2014 16:44
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Sir Unimaginative posted:You could go cheaper than that, or better quality than that, or get one of these. I have one of their previous gen ones - having the d-pad as 4 separate buttons completely breaks the D-pad's ability to be meaningfully used as a d-pad in 2d games.
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Apr 15, 2014 16:55
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The Lord Bude posted:In that case read further down from my original response where I made a more detailed post to another guy about sound stuff. So something like that Maximus VI Gene from upthread would probably suit my needs adequately? That's an awful big price jump though, is there a board with similar quality on-board sound that doesn't double my cost, or is that just how it's gonna be?
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Apr 15, 2014 16:56
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stinkles1112 posted:So something like that Maximus VI Gene from upthread would probably suit my needs adequately? That's an awful big price jump though, is there a board with similar quality on-board sound that doesn't double my cost, or is that just how it's gonna be? Look for a mobo with an ALC 1150 chip. $200 worth of headphones is justification enough to upgrade from non 1150 mobo sound, $200 doesn't stretch nearly as far if we're talking speakers. It may turn out to be cheaper to get a dedicated sound card or external DAC and pair it with a cheaper mobo. For reference something like this: http://pcpartpicker.com/part/asus-sound-card-xonaressencestx Is what I would call a good quality soundcard. Bear in mind this would be far superior to even the onboard in the Maximus mobos. That supreme FX card on maximus mobos is a very nice upgrade from regular crappy onboard but it isn't worth paying that much extra for the motherboard just for that, when you aren't going to use even 5% of the mobo features.
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Apr 15, 2014 17:22
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What's the consensus on wireless vs powerline networking? I can't run ethernet in my apartment easily, but it's a big open loft, so wireless signal isn't going through any walls or anything.
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Apr 15, 2014 17:54
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The Lord Bude posted:Look for a mobo with an ALC 1150 chip. $200 worth of headphones is justification enough to upgrade from non 1150 mobo sound, $200 doesn't stretch nearly as far if we're talking speakers. It may turn out to be cheaper to get a dedicated sound card or external DAC and pair it with a cheaper mobo. For reference something like this: If you have $200 headphones you're better off with a USB DAC.
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Apr 15, 2014 18:44
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BusinessWallet posted:What's the consensus on wireless vs powerline networking? I can't run ethernet in my apartment easily, but it's a big open loft, so wireless signal isn't going through any walls or anything. Powerline is really only useful in places where wireless isn't usable. Powerline is slower on average and it can be very fussy depending on the electrical layout. A good dual band N router and client can be had for the same price as good powerline adapters but will be way faster.
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Apr 15, 2014 19:35
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Crackbone posted:Powerline is really only useful in places where wireless isn't usable. Powerline is slower on average and it can be very fussy depending on the electrical layout. A good dual band N router and client can be had for the same price as good powerline adapters but will be way faster. Even for transferring large files and streaming? That was my worry.
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Apr 15, 2014 20:10
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BusinessWallet posted:Even for transferring large files and streaming? That was my worry. It depends.  If you get a good router/adapter and have a good signal environment, then file transfer isn't a problem at all. Online streaming is fine; for x264 media wireless N might be okay, and from what I've heard AC is even better. The big issue is powerline is even more variable than wireless in bandwidth. I've got a very good Netgear 500Mb powerline adapter in a building without shared electrical and I max out at about 40Mb. Under ideal circumstances you shouldn't expect more than 1/10th of advertised bandwidth for powerline adapter. On the plus side, if you have a good connection, you'll see less packet loss/drops so streaming video is less likely to drop.
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Apr 15, 2014 20:26
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Are there any high-quality sound cards on the market with RCA outputs currently, or would I be better off going with a standalone USB DAC? I don't need surround sound.
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Apr 15, 2014 21:29
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atomicthumbs posted:Are there any high-quality sound cards on the market with RCA outputs currently, or would I be better off going with a standalone USB DAC? I don't need surround sound. Plenty. Even if it has a 1/8" or 1/4" jack out that's a cheap adapter away from being RCA outputs. I myself run an Asus Xonar Essence STX and have loved it for years.
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Apr 15, 2014 23:08
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I just realized I've never upgraded my computer parts except for adding more ram. Going from Nvidia 460 to 760 is there anything I need to do aside from swap them out? Like will the computer recognize the new equipment and use the current driver (which I believe is the same for both cards) automatically?
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Apr 15, 2014 23:52
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Nitramster posted:I just realized I've never upgraded my computer parts except for adding more ram. Going from Nvidia 460 to 760 is there anything I need to do aside from swap them out? Like will the computer recognize the new equipment and use the current driver (which I believe is the same for both cards) automatically? It's easy enough to uninstall the driver, remove the card, and reinstall the driver.
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Apr 15, 2014 23:55
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See I didn't realize I would have to do that, glad I asked!
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Apr 16, 2014 00:08
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Just wanted to thank everyone in this and the previous threads... I spent a lot of time planning an ultimate system.... and then I remembered I don't have time to play games, or the money to buy them after all.... so I just went and got a core i5 Inspiron. I'll get a Geforce 750 at a later date because... seriously so many of the games I was playing are actually doing quite well on the integrated graphics @ 1280x1024. ( Yes I could get a bigger monitor but that's not in the budget at the moment. ) You are all credits to SA, and kept me from buying AMD. Huzzah, et cetera.
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Apr 16, 2014 02:48
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Alright, so I've got the cross-shipping for my faulty mobo underway. Turns out losing that PCI clip was negligible. So, stupid question: when I have to get my CPU Cooler and CPU out of this thing, am I alright to stay with the thermal paste already applied, or will I have to apply a fresh coat? I ask because I have no isopropyl alcohol or (to my knowledge) static/lint-free cloths to do the deed with and will need to buy some if I need to remove the previous coat. Or are there other (read: safer) scrubbing solutions I can use?
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Apr 16, 2014 02:52
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Yeah if you leave the old stuff on, it's not gonna do its job. It's your CPU man find some alcohol.
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Apr 16, 2014 03:00
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SL the Pyro posted:Alright, so I've got the cross-shipping for my faulty mobo underway. Turns out losing that PCI clip was negligible. Normally, you'd want 90+% isopropyl alcohol, but I've used ~70% and some coffee filters and been just fine. Just be more careful than normal, maybe let it air off a bit if you feel you were super messy. Otherwise, just take your time, maybe check a video if you're really unsure how to take a filter to a metal plate.
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Apr 16, 2014 03:05
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AntennaGeek posted:Just wanted to thank everyone in this and the previous threads... I'd shoot for the 750ti, if you're able.
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Apr 16, 2014 03:24
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deimos posted:If you have $200 headphones you're better off with a USB DAC. I tend to agree but that xonar has better stats than the entry level USB dacs and I didn't want to suggest someone spend 400 dollars unless I knew they were really into audio.
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Apr 16, 2014 04:01
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While the xonar is likely the best internal solution, you'd be better off getting a schiit magni/modi stack if you are spending that much money. It is about as much as most people will ever need. The biggest kicker is the 10 ohm output impedance of the xonar, which makes it unsuitable for lower impedance headphones. The schiit stack has an output impedance of .1 ohm.
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Apr 16, 2014 04:24
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And come on, it's called a poo poo stack.
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Apr 16, 2014 04:55
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I was looking at a JDS Labs ODAC to get sound to my Marantz 2230 and headphones/speakers. Apparently they're pretty competitive. You can get one with a built-in headphone amp too.
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Apr 16, 2014 04:58
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SL the Pyro posted:Alright, so I've got the cross-shipping for my faulty mobo underway. Turns out losing that PCI clip was negligible. Yes, apply a fresh coat. You can buy isopropyl rubbing alcohol for $.99 at any Walmart or Walgreens in America. It's a negligible price to pay in order to apply a fresh dab of thermal paste to your valuable CPU.
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Apr 16, 2014 06:52
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This mini ITX build wasn't as difficult as I thought it was going to be; ended up being just as easy as building any normal PC really. Though, the Cooler Master Elite 130 is pretty roomy. I highly recommend the case for anyone wanting to do their first mini ITX build. It's pretty forgiving. I'm not even using a modular PSU and there's still plenty of room. Just waiting on my new set of RAM and then I'm good to go 
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Apr 16, 2014 07:15
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Can anyone recommend a decent pci express wireless card that doesnt have huge leads or antennas sticking out the back?
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