Register a SA Forums Account here!
JOINING THE SA FORUMS WILL REMOVE THIS BIG AD, THE ANNOYING UNDERLINED ADS, AND STUPID INTERSTITIAL ADS!!!

You can: log in, read the tech support FAQ, or request your lost password. This dumb message (and those ads) will appear on every screen until you register! Get rid of this crap by registering your own SA Forums Account and joining roughly 150,000 Goons, for the one-time price of $9.95! We charge money because it costs us money per month for bills, and since we don't believe in showing ads to our users, we try to make the money back through forum registrations.
 
  • Post
  • Reply
Eletriarnation
Apr 6, 2005

People don't appreciate the substance of things...
objects in space.


Oven Wrangler
Yeah, the cooler design hasn't really changed much for the standard desktop socket since 2006. Most aftermarket coolers that you buy should fit 1155, I know that the ever-popular Hyper 212 EVO does.

Adbot
ADBOT LOVES YOU

skit herre
Mar 24, 2015

Don't do drugs, kids.
Lipstick Apathy
I am just reading up on PC building, haven't done that in a long time. So just a quick question to get to a baseline: Would a i5-6500 and a GTX 1060 be sufficient to play all current games at reasonably high setting?

/e: 1060 with 6GB i mean.

/e2:

Or let's just assume one would, against all advice, buy a complete PC. Would there be anything wrong with this:



Priced at 999€, which seems to be alright.

skit herre fucked around with this message at 15:28 on Oct 27, 2016

HalloKitty
Sep 30, 2005

Adjust the bass and let the Alpine blast

Agrajag posted:

Whoa wait the i7 2600K isn't the bottleneck for my system either?

My specs are:

i7 2600k 3.40Ghz (I tried overclocking when i first built my pc but it would crash when I ran a game/not bootup entirely, and now I'm not confident in trying to overclock)

The 2600K is still decent, and will easily feed a graphics card more powerful than the one you have; but it really should be overclocked. If it doesn't overclock at all, it'll have been the first Sandy Bridge chip I've ever heard of that doesn't just take it like a champ.

vv Try not to use an automated overclocking tool, they often sometimes bump the base clock too (which should be always left alone on Sandy Bridge, at 100MHz). It's pretty much just a matter of changing the turbo multiplier. 42 is a reasonable starting point, but you'll probably get some instability above 44 or so without touching voltages. Since you're not into overclocking anyway, I wouldn't bother going much higher than that. You'd still get a great free performance bump. If you have any other questions about it, there is an overclocking thread too.

HalloKitty fucked around with this message at 15:03 on Oct 27, 2016

Agrajag
Jan 21, 2006

gat dang thats hot

HalloKitty posted:

The 2600K is still perfectly decent, and will easily feed a graphics card more powerful than the one you have, but it really should be overclocked. If it doesn't overclock at all, it'll have been the first Sandy Bridge chip I've ever heard of that doesn't just take it like a champ.

Well I did try overclocking through the ASUS bios thing and the problems were that it would crash when trying to play a game or not bootup and hang at the bios.

IIRC the problem initially, while overclocked, was that my HDD's would not boot up in the correct order or that one or the other HDD would not even show up. Then I reverted back to the stock CPU clock and everything would boot up fine.

HalloKitty posted:


vv Try not to use an automated overclocking tool, they often sometimes bump the base clock too (which should be always left alone on Sandy Bridge, at 100MHz). It's pretty much just a matter of changing the turbo multiplier. 42 is a reasonable starting point, but you'll probably get some instability above 44 or so without touching voltages. Since you're not into overclocking anyway, I wouldn't bother going much higher than that. You'd still get a great free performance bump. If you have any other questions about it, there is an overclocking thread too.

I appreciate the tips but I did not understand any of this aside from the automated overclocking tool should not be used.

Agrajag fucked around with this message at 15:09 on Oct 27, 2016

Eletriarnation
Apr 6, 2005

People don't appreciate the substance of things...
objects in space.


Oven Wrangler

Agrajag posted:

I appreciate the tips but I did not understand any of this aside from the automated overclocking tool should not be used.

CPU speed is determined by base clock (100MHz on any recent system) and a multiplier which varies based on processor and turbo state. The default multiplier on the 2600K is 34x, so 3400MHz. All you need to do for overclocking is turn that up. The poster you quoted recommended 42x as a good starting point, and I can say that my 2500K has had no issue doing 44x for 5 years now although that may be because my motherboard's "auto" voltage setting runs it at 1.38V under load.

Agrajag
Jan 21, 2006

gat dang thats hot

Eletriarnation posted:

CPU speed is determined by base clock (100MHz on any recent system) and a multiplier which varies based on processor and turbo state. The default multiplier on the 2600K is 34x, so 3400MHz. All you need to do for overclocking is turn that up. The poster you quoted recommended 42x as a good starting point, and I can say that my 2500K has had no issue doing 44x for 5 years now although that may be because my motherboard's "auto" voltage setting runs it at 1.38V under load.

But how do I bump these up without using the automated overclocking tool through the ASUS motherboard? The overclocking thread doesn't indicate what software I'm supposed to use.

Agrajag fucked around with this message at 15:22 on Oct 27, 2016

Suburban Dad
Jan 10, 2007


Well what's attached to a leash that it made itself?
The punchline is the way that you've been fuckin' yourself




No software to use, just go into the bios (hit delete or F9 or whatever as it's booting up) and change the multiplier. It's very simple and google should yield tons of results and pics of the bios screen to get you on the right path. I have a 2500k and only changed the multiplier (with my 212 evo cooler) in the bios to 44 and didn't have to touch voltage at all. Not saying you shouldn't look at it though, my auto voltage was good enough. Make sure you're fine but they're pretty simple to get a decent overclock out of.

The overclocking thread is pretty good for this, just read it over a few times, there's even a sandy bridge section since it's a bit outdated.

Edit: Here's a screen shot from google. Multiplier is the first thing on the list.




Agrajag posted:

i7 2600k 3.40Ghz (I tried overclocking when i first built my pc but it would crash when I ran a game/not bootup entirely, and now I'm not confident in trying to overclock)
ASUS P8Z68-V LX
8GB ram
Samsung 120GB SSD
EVGA 770 2GB vram
Seasonic 650W Gold series
couple of HDD's don't remember the makes.
Win 7

You could easily upgrade your RAM to some 16GB @ 2133Mhz (would require more bios tweaking, but it should just be one setting to OC the RAM) and throw in a new GPU for a significant increase. The GPU is the main drawback at this point. You could choose not to do the ram since it can't be transferred over to a new board (DDR3 vs DDR4) in case your mobo or CPU shits out and you end up needing to replace everything. Kind of up to you.

Suburban Dad fucked around with this message at 15:55 on Oct 27, 2016

Actuarial Fables
Jul 29, 2014

Taco Defender

Agrajag posted:

But how do I bump these up without using the automated overclocking tool through the ASUS motherboard? The overclocking thread doesn't indicate what software I'm supposed to use.

For your motherboard, this is done under the "A.I. Tweaker" tab in the bios.

Read the manual to get a quick overview of the different options.

Oldstench
Jun 29, 2007

Let's talk about where you're going.
Ok, so I've been out of the loop for quite a while (behold and mock my current machine):


I'm thinking about grabbing these parts to make a new machine. I intend to keep my current graphics card because I'm actually little above the limit of my budget and I don't really care about max FPS ultra gaming. Honestly I just want to finally be able to play the "requires 64-bit OS" games that I stupidly bought without looking at the specs. Anything jump out that I could/should change. I do need at least 1 legacy PCI slot on the mobo though, which is why I chose the one I did.

Ciprian Maricon
Feb 27, 2006



I need to get my mom a new PC for her work. Could anyone point me to something that has both Microsoft Office included and Adobe Acrobat Reader? I can find a suitable PC but I can't find one with both programs already loaded and she's pretty adamant that's what she needs since she's terrified of having to download and install a thing.

Realistically I figure I can buy a cheap dell refurb, install that poo poo myself then pack it up and mail it to her, but I thought I'd ask on the off chance that someone could save me the hassle and shipping costs.

Eletriarnation
Apr 6, 2005

People don't appreciate the substance of things...
objects in space.


Oven Wrangler

Agrajag posted:

ASUS P8Z68-V LX

Wow, I actually didn't notice before but this is the exact same motherboard that I have. The voltage controls are a bit wonky in my opinion since it gives you a list of possible offsets from the base value instead of the absolute numbers that I was used to from my older systems. However, using 'Auto' at 4.4GHz puts me at 1.38V under load which has worked since I got the system and is really as high as I feel like going. I would recommend just changing the multiplier and using Auto as well to start. If you try moving the multiplier up and start to hit a wall with stability, you can decide if you want to delve into voltage tweaks to try and get further but you're pretty much guaranteed to get at least 4.0GHz and 4.2 is very common.

HMS Boromir
Jul 16, 2011

by Lowtax

skit herre posted:

Or let's just assume one would, against all advice, buy a complete PC. Would there be anything wrong with this:
Priced at 999€, which seems to be alright.
Mostly the PSU, I doubt that one is very good. The SSD isn't one we usually recommend but I don't think anyone's found anything dreadfully wrong with the MX300 yet. Other than that it's surprisingly solid

Oldstench posted:

Ok, so I've been out of the loop for quite a while (behold and mock my current machine):


I'm thinking about grabbing these parts to make a new machine. I intend to keep my current graphics card because I'm actually little above the limit of my budget and I don't really care about max FPS ultra gaming. Honestly I just want to finally be able to play the "requires 64-bit OS" games that I stupidly bought without looking at the specs. Anything jump out that I could/should change. I do need at least 1 legacy PCI slot on the mobo though, which is why I chose the one I did.
Looks just fine, though I'd get DDR4-3000 since the price difference is very small and it basically acts as like a small boost to CPU performance. You can save a lot of money on the case, something like this would do. You might have to switch out the cooler but you'd still come out ahead (and that cooler is better anyway). I'd also throw out a recommendation for the RM550x power supply, it's high quality like the EVGA model you picked but comes with an obscenely long warranty.

(edited part list)

You'll have a pretty dire GPU bottleneck on your hands (I should know, I'm running a 6600K with a 750 Ti right now) but at that resolution you should be fine. You can make your next upgrade a better GPU and monitor when you can afford the expense, everything else should last you a while.

HMS Boromir fucked around with this message at 17:25 on Oct 27, 2016

betamax hipster
Aug 13, 2016

Oldstench posted:

Ok, so I've been out of the loop for quite a while (behold and mock my current machine):


I'm thinking about grabbing these parts to make a new machine. I intend to keep my current graphics card because I'm actually little above the limit of my budget and I don't really care about max FPS ultra gaming. Honestly I just want to finally be able to play the "requires 64-bit OS" games that I stupidly bought without looking at the specs. Anything jump out that I could/should change. I do need at least 1 legacy PCI slot on the mobo though, which is why I chose the one I did.

You don't need to buy anything for 64-bit compatibility. Just install the 64-bit version of your current OS--the same license key works for either. Your CPU is a bit long in the tooth, but if you don't have specific problems it's better to save for a future upgrade.

Khablam
Mar 29, 2012

betamax hipster posted:

You don't need to buy anything for 64-bit compatibility. Just install the 64-bit version of your current OS--the same license key works for either. Your CPU is a bit long in the tooth, but if you don't have specific problems it's better to save for a future upgrade.

This is the correct answer if you're happy with the performance in general. The windows 10 media creation tool is probably going to accept the windows 7 key and install. Select 64bit.
If you really want Win7 for whatever reason you'll need to jump through some hoops to get updates working from a clean install.

Oldstench
Jun 29, 2007

Let's talk about where you're going.

betamax hipster posted:

You don't need to buy anything for 64-bit compatibility. Just install the 64-bit version of your current OS--the same license key works for either. Your CPU is a bit long in the tooth, but if you don't have specific problems it's better to save for a future upgrade.

I don't have a product key - it was an MSDN copy from my old job. I tried to update it once and it wouldn't let me. :shrug:

betamax hipster
Aug 13, 2016

Oldstench posted:

I don't have a product key - it was an MSDN copy from my old job. I tried to update it once and it wouldn't let me. :shrug:

I know you can pull product keys from the registry, but I don't know if that works for enterprise licensing. If not, just buy a new key.

Oldstench
Jun 29, 2007

Let's talk about where you're going.

HMS Boromir posted:

Mostly the PSU, I doubt that one is very good. The SSD isn't one we usually recommend but I don't think anyone's found anything dreadfully wrong with the MX300 yet. Other than that it's surprisingly solid

Looks just fine, though I'd get DDR4-3000 since the price difference is very small and it basically acts as like a small boost to CPU performance. You can save a lot of money on the case, something like this would do. You might have to switch out the cooler but you'd still come out ahead (and that cooler is better anyway). I'd also throw out a recommendation for the RM550x power supply, it's high quality like the EVGA model you picked but comes with an obscenely long warranty.

(edited part list)

You'll have a pretty dire GPU bottleneck on your hands (I should know, I'm running a 6600K with a 750 Ti right now) but at that resolution you should be fine. You can make your next upgrade a better GPU and monitor when you can afford the expense, everything else should last you a while.

Thanks a bunch!

Oldstench
Jun 29, 2007

Let's talk about where you're going.

betamax hipster posted:

I know you can pull product keys from the registry, but I don't know if that works for enterprise licensing. If not, just buy a new key.

It returns a bunch of 0's.

I'll consider the other option. I'm kinda feeling like I just want a new computer at this point though.

Oldstench fucked around with this message at 17:58 on Oct 27, 2016

skit herre
Mar 24, 2015

Don't do drugs, kids.
Lipstick Apathy

HMS Boromir posted:

Mostly the PSU, I doubt that one is very good. The SSD isn't one we usually recommend but I don't think anyone's found anything dreadfully wrong with the MX300 yet. Other than that it's surprisingly solid



Thanks. And would that machine be powerful enough for current games at high settings in 1080p?

HMS Boromir
Jul 16, 2011

by Lowtax

skit herre posted:

Thanks. And would that machine be powerful enough for current games at high settings in 1080p?
Yeah, that CPU will run anything you throw at it and the GTX 1060 is the standard recommendation for 1080p right now.

Now that I think to look it up though, "Asus Geforce GTX 1060 DUAL OC" could describe both a 3GB and a 6GB model. I'd make sure you're getting the 6GB one.

betamax hipster
Aug 13, 2016

Oldstench posted:

It returns a bunch of 0's.

I'll consider the other option. I'm kinda feeling like I just want a new computer at this point though.

Oh, if you want a new computer, I'm the last person to stop you. I just built one myself, coming from an ancient i7-860 build. Just wanted to point out it wasn't a requirement for your given use case.

skit herre
Mar 24, 2015

Don't do drugs, kids.
Lipstick Apathy

HMS Boromir posted:

Yeah, that CPU will run anything you throw at it and the GTX 1060 is the standard recommendation for 1080p right now.

Now that I think to look it up though, "Asus Geforce GTX 1060 DUAL OC" could describe both a 3GB and a 6GB model. I'd make sure you're getting the 6GB one.

Thanks again. Yes, it's the 6GB version.

I am strongly considering to just buy that one.

Sigma-X
Jun 17, 2005

Larrymer posted:

Post the rest of your current specs. Sounds like you could easily get away with a GPU, and SSD/RAM/OC depending on what you have and still have a pretty quick machine.

My build is currently:

i7 2600k
GFX 560Ti
16 GB RAM
no SDD, I've got like 3 physical 7200rpm drives in the machine instead.

Standard clocking no special cooling, either.

Seems like just jamming a new videocard in is the best bet for now, and seeing if I have room for a giant fan or something (not interested in trying to gently caress around with liquid cooling)

thanks folks!

VelociBacon
Dec 8, 2009

Sigma-X posted:

My build is currently:

i7 2600k
GFX 560Ti
16 GB RAM
no SDD, I've got like 3 physical 7200rpm drives in the machine instead.

Standard clocking no special cooling, either.

Seems like just jamming a new videocard in is the best bet for now, and seeing if I have room for a giant fan or something (not interested in trying to gently caress around with liquid cooling)

thanks folks!

Getting an SSD is the best bet for now. Get an SSD damnit.

Oldstench
Jun 29, 2007

Let's talk about where you're going.

VelociBacon posted:

Getting an SSD is the best bet for now. Get an SSD damnit.

The SSD in my anemic POS posted above was the best upgrade I've ever done ever.

The Slack Lagoon
Jun 17, 2008



Ciprian Maricon posted:

I need to get my mom a new PC for her work. Could anyone point me to something that has both Microsoft Office included and Adobe Acrobat Reader? I can find a suitable PC but I can't find one with both programs already loaded and she's pretty adamant that's what she needs since she's terrified of having to download and install a thing.

Realistically I figure I can buy a cheap dell refurb, install that poo poo myself then pack it up and mail it to her, but I thought I'd ask on the off chance that someone could save me the hassle and shipping costs.

You should probably just buy a computer and install those apps. Or tell her if she wants to use a computer she needs to learn how to install apps.

Ciprian Maricon
Feb 27, 2006



I'll just do it for her, its been 20 years of asking me to fix poo poo for her she isn't gonna learn now, and that's O.K.

Moms are cool, call your mom everyone, they probably miss you.

The Slack Lagoon
Jun 17, 2008



Alternatively mail her a flash drive with the installers

Butt Ghost
Nov 23, 2013

Wanting to upgrade my PC. I use it for gaming. I live in the US, my budget is $2000, and my resolution is 1080p.

my current build:
AMD FX-6100 Six-Core processor, 3.30 GHz
AMD Radeon HD 7800
8 gigs of ram
465 GB harddrive

Twerk from Home
Jan 17, 2009

This avatar brought to you by the 'save our dead gay forums' foundation.

Butt Ghost posted:

Wanting to upgrade my PC. I use it for gaming. I live in the US, my budget is $2000, and my resolution is 1080p.

my current build:
AMD FX-6100 Six-Core processor, 3.30 GHz
AMD Radeon HD 7800
8 gigs of ram
465 GB harddrive

Sell your current PC for some pocket change, build an SA Perforamance Gamer from the OP and spend the rest on a really, really nice monitor.

Suburban Dad
Jan 10, 2007


Well what's attached to a leash that it made itself?
The punchline is the way that you've been fuckin' yourself




Sigma-X posted:

My build is currently:

i7 2600k
GFX 560Ti
16 GB RAM
no SDD, I've got like 3 physical 7200rpm drives in the machine instead.

Standard clocking no special cooling, either.

Same story for you. A 212 Evo ($30) +overclock, SSD and a new GC and you're system still has some good life left in it. What speed is your RAM?

kripes
Aug 14, 2002

BRRRRRAAAAAIIIINNNNSSS
Hey so I bought this exact proc sku: http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819117561

Didn't realize it doesn't come with an HSF. Any recommendations ? I don't want a $140 water cooler HSF like this guy https://ca.pcpartpicker.com/product/CrDzK8/corsair-cpu-cooler-cw9060025ww. Too expensive

Suburban Dad
Jan 10, 2007


Well what's attached to a leash that it made itself?
The punchline is the way that you've been fuckin' yourself




How much space do you have in your case? Some of the air coolers are huge so it's something to consider.

zergstain
Dec 15, 2005

I had a question about PCIe lanes. If I understand correctly, if I wanted to run SLI, I would have nothing left available for other PCIe 3.0 devices, such as an SSD unless I ponied up for an Extreme Edition CPU? Either that, or have it run at 2.0 speeds? I guess that would be configurable in the BIOS?

Paul MaudDib
May 3, 2006

TEAM NVIDIA:
FORUM POLICE

zergstain posted:

I had a question about PCIe lanes. If I understand correctly, if I wanted to run SLI, I would have nothing left available for other PCIe 3.0 devices, such as an SSD unless I ponied up for an Extreme Edition CPU? Either that, or have it run at 2.0 speeds? I guess that would be configurable in the BIOS?

The important caveat is that there's also a few lanes that come off the PCH. Skylake, especially, opens those up for some things like NVMe SSDs. But in general yes, if you want more than 16 lanes you need a HEDT chip. Consumer chips are really super tight on lanes and actually 3.0x8 is bottlenecked with things like Titan XP SLI. It is a bad design overall.

kripes
Aug 14, 2002

BRRRRRAAAAAIIIINNNNSSS

Larrymer posted:

How much space do you have in your case? Some of the air coolers are huge so it's something to consider.

Lots? I don't plan to run an insane overclock so I would have been ok with the stock HSF.

This is my case: http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811139073

Willo567
Feb 5, 2015

Cheating helped me fail the test and stay on the show.
I'm thinking about purchasing a 3tb hard drive, but I've heard that for some motherboards, the bios needs to be updated, or the hard drive needs to be partitioned. Is this required only for booting off the drive, or can I use it for storage without updating?

VelociBacon
Dec 8, 2009

Willo567 posted:

I'm thinking about purchasing a 3tb hard drive, but I've heard that for some motherboards, the bios needs to be updated, or the hard drive needs to be partitioned. Is this required only for booting off the drive, or can I use it for storage without updating?

I don't think that's a problem at all anymore. If that's a HDD for storage just put it in, activate it with the disc manager or whatever in control panel, format it, and you're good to go. If it's an HDD for a boot drive then buy an SSD and use that as a boot drive.

zergstain
Dec 15, 2005

Paul MaudDib posted:

The important caveat is that there's also a few lanes that come off the PCH. Skylake, especially, opens those up for some things like NVMe SSDs. But in general yes, if you want more than 16 lanes you need a HEDT chip. Consumer chips are really super tight on lanes and actually 3.0x8 is bottlenecked with things like Titan XP SLI. It is a bad design overall.

My understanding was those lanes off the PCH were PCIe 2.0. I wasn't aware there was a noticeable difference with any current graphics cards running at x8 vs x16. Looks like the best thing to do is probably wait a couple years for 4k gaming.

Adbot
ADBOT LOVES YOU

some dillweed
Mar 31, 2007

kripes posted:

Lots? I don't plan to run an insane overclock so I would have been ok with the stock HSF.

This is my case: http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811139073
Yours didn't come with a cooler because there is no stock heatsink with the unlocked Skylake processors. People seem to suggest the Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO for us Canadians (seems to be ~$40), because the Cryorig coolers aren't available here.

  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
  • Post
  • Reply