Computer Building Thread
8GB of DDR3 1333 for $24.99 no rebates at the Egg.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...6&SID=FWacupha
Just ordered 16GB for my future rig.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...6&SID=FWacupha
Just ordered 16GB for my future rig.
I posted this in a BF3 thread in the Console & Computer Gaming section. I installed a Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus soon after due to high CPU temps. Playing BF3 it would go well above 75-80C! Mainly stays in mid 40-50 range, but really does not go above 60 now.
Next addition to this build will be a ASUS Xonar DX sound card.
Next addition to this build will be a ASUS Xonar DX sound card.
New PC just built a couple days ago for BF3! I have not played any PC games since BF2 many years ago, so I am really looking forward to BF3!
Corsair Graphite Series 600T Case
Corsair TX750M Power Supply
Corsair Vengeance DDR3 4GB
WD Black 1TB HD SATA 6Gb/s
EVGA GeForce GTX560TI DS SuperClocked
ASUS P8Z68-v mobo
i7-2600K



Corsair Graphite Series 600T Case
Corsair TX750M Power Supply
Corsair Vengeance DDR3 4GB
WD Black 1TB HD SATA 6Gb/s
EVGA GeForce GTX560TI DS SuperClocked
ASUS P8Z68-v mobo
i7-2600K



How much easier is the modular PSU, especially with cable management built in to that case?
I'll need to step up in power when I get the i5, but I'm not sure if I want to pay the extra cheese for modularity.
I'll need to step up in power when I get the i5, but I'm not sure if I want to pay the extra cheese for modularity.
Thanks! I cannot take complete credit for the build as my co-worker helped out. He built almost the exact same rig as I about a month before mine. Only difference is he got the case in white and he got a GTX580!
Adding one more pic that shows the other side of the case. Gives a good idea on the cable management. I have not worked in a lot of cases before, but one thing I liked is the open part on the back of the case where the CPU is. Made it really easy for me to swap in the Cooler Master on the CPU without having to remove the mobo.
Adding one more pic that shows the other side of the case. Gives a good idea on the cable management. I have not worked in a lot of cases before, but one thing I liked is the open part on the back of the case where the CPU is. Made it really easy for me to swap in the Cooler Master on the CPU without having to remove the mobo.
I just got an NVIDIA GTX 550 Ti video card and tried to install on my Vista 64 bit machine. It won't install due to the operating system. My PC is old (Intel Q6600), using a NVIDIA GT8800.
Nothing wrong with my machine other then the video card out of date and I cannot play today's games. Mind you I am not a gamer, use my machine mainly for surfing web, watch movies, etc.
I am thinking about buying new parts to build a new machine. My brother builds my PC's. What components do you recommend for a mid-user like myself? I already have the video card.
Nothing wrong with my machine other then the video card out of date and I cannot play today's games. Mind you I am not a gamer, use my machine mainly for surfing web, watch movies, etc.
I am thinking about buying new parts to build a new machine. My brother builds my PC's. What components do you recommend for a mid-user like myself? I already have the video card.
I just completed my new rig about 2 weeks ago, just got tired of a laptop and wanted something faster. Getting back in gaming.
I order new everything. Here's what I have :
Cooler Master Haf 932
ASRock P67 EXTREME4 GEN3 motherboard
SeaSonic X750 Gold 750W PSU
Intel I5-2500K Sandy Bridge 3.3GHz
EVGA SuperClocked GeForce GTX 570 HD
Crucial M4 128GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)
Western Digital Caviar Black 500GB
G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 8GB
ASUS 24X DVD Burner
COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 EVO

I order new everything. Here's what I have :
Cooler Master Haf 932
ASRock P67 EXTREME4 GEN3 motherboard
SeaSonic X750 Gold 750W PSU
Intel I5-2500K Sandy Bridge 3.3GHz
EVGA SuperClocked GeForce GTX 570 HD
Crucial M4 128GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)
Western Digital Caviar Black 500GB
G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 8GB
ASUS 24X DVD Burner
COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 EVO

I just got an NVIDIA GTX 550 Ti video card and tried to install on my Vista 64 bit machine. It won't install due to the operating system. My PC is old (Intel Q6600), using a NVIDIA GT8800.
Nothing wrong with my machine other then the video card out of date and I cannot play today's games. Mind you I am not a gamer, use my machine mainly for surfing web, watch movies, etc.
I am thinking about buying new parts to build a new machine. My brother builds my PC's. What components do you recommend for a mid-user like myself? I already have the video card.
Nothing wrong with my machine other then the video card out of date and I cannot play today's games. Mind you I am not a gamer, use my machine mainly for surfing web, watch movies, etc.
I am thinking about buying new parts to build a new machine. My brother builds my PC's. What components do you recommend for a mid-user like myself? I already have the video card.
Just upgraded my existing desktop!
Recycled some of my old parts (Case, PSU, HDDs and Videocard)
System:
Core i5 2500k @ 4.2ghz (100x42)
Asus P8Z68-V
8GB DDR3 Vengeance @ 800 9-9-9-24
Sapphire 5830 - @ 920mhz / 1250mhz
550W Antec PSU
Lian Li V2000A
2 x 640GB in RAID0 with a 500gb straggler data drive.
Computer runs BF3 flawlessly .. really happy with my upgrade.
Recycled some of my old parts (Case, PSU, HDDs and Videocard)
System:
Core i5 2500k @ 4.2ghz (100x42)
Asus P8Z68-V
8GB DDR3 Vengeance @ 800 9-9-9-24
Sapphire 5830 - @ 920mhz / 1250mhz
550W Antec PSU
Lian Li V2000A
2 x 640GB in RAID0 with a 500gb straggler data drive.
Computer runs BF3 flawlessly .. really happy with my upgrade.
Hey guys. Was hoping some of you computer savvy people can help me out.
I am looking to replace my desktop and decided to give cyberpowerpc.com a shot. I don't really want to build it myself because I've never built one before and I would be incredibly lost in the whole process of picking parts and building it etc.
I was hoping to spend $1000 max and I got it right on the dot with the configuration I did. I was hoping you all could take a look at it and let me know what you think.
Keep in mind, I will be using this mostly for leisure (browsing the net, watching videos, listening to music, playing 1 or 2 computer games.. but they are older games that don't require superior graphics cards etc). Also just to let you know, my desktop now is 10 years old, 512MB RAM, 1.8 GHZ processor, 80GB memory so it seems like even the bottom of the line system would blow my current one out of the water.
Here is what I configured:
http://www.cyberpowerpc.com/saved/1E284A
I am looking to replace my desktop and decided to give cyberpowerpc.com a shot. I don't really want to build it myself because I've never built one before and I would be incredibly lost in the whole process of picking parts and building it etc.
I was hoping to spend $1000 max and I got it right on the dot with the configuration I did. I was hoping you all could take a look at it and let me know what you think.
Keep in mind, I will be using this mostly for leisure (browsing the net, watching videos, listening to music, playing 1 or 2 computer games.. but they are older games that don't require superior graphics cards etc). Also just to let you know, my desktop now is 10 years old, 512MB RAM, 1.8 GHZ processor, 80GB memory so it seems like even the bottom of the line system would blow my current one out of the water.
Here is what I configured:
http://www.cyberpowerpc.com/saved/1E284A
^ You are right doopstr. It's just that everybody seems to be saying building your own pc is the best thing to do so "peer pressure" 
I went to Dell and built one there (a lot easier than cyberpowerpc) and came up with this which is $725 AND includes a 22" Full HD monitor:
Would you say this is a good setup for the price?
Inspiron 620 ST Inspiron 620 Slimtower w/ Black Bezel MSBBH [225-1033]
Operating System Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium, 64Bit, English W7HPCY1 [318-0455][330-6097][331-2553][420-6436][420-6576][420-9352][420-9691][420-9841][421-0092][421-0756][421-2087][421-3645][421-4047][421-4582][421-4583][421-4652][421-5577][421-5693][421-5953][421-5954][421-6194][463-2282]
Processors 2nd Generation Intel® Core™ i5-2320 processor (3.0GHz with 6MB Cache) MSI5232 [317-8408]
Memory 8GB Dual Channel DDR3 SDRAM at 1333MHz - 2 DIMMs 8G1332D [317-7005]
Keyboard Dell USB Entry Keyboard EKL [330-3620]
Monitor ST2220L 21.5-inch Full HD Widescreen Monitor ST2220L [320-9311]
Video Card Intel® HD Graphics IHD2000 [320-2052]
Hard Drive 1TB Serial ATA Hard Drive (7200RPM) w/DataBurst Cache™ 1TBS [342-2718]
Color Bezels Black Bezel BLACK [318-0937]
Floppy Drive Integrated 8 in 1 Media Card Reader 8MCR [331-2590]
Mouse Dell USB Optical Mouse OMI [330-8652]
Network Card Standard USB 2.0 + 10/100/1000 Ethernet IE [430-3775]
Modem No Dial Up Modem Option N [313-3137]
Adobe Software Adobe® Acrobat® Reader AAREAD [410-0547]
Optical Drives 16X DVD+/-RW Drive W7DVDRW [318-0857][421-4542]
Sound Integrated 5.1 IS [331-2594]
Wireless Dell Wireless 1502 (802.11n) WLAN half mini-Card DW1502 [430-4262]
Office Productivity Software (Pre-Installed) Microsoft® Office Home and Student 2010 DHS [410-0451]
Security Software McAfee SecurityCenter, 15-Months MCEM15M [410-0569]
Service 1 Year Basic Support T1OSS [420-8878][938-9273][938-9973][950-3337][950-9797][983-3680]
Protection DataSafe 2.0 Online Backup 2GB for 1 year DSO2G [421-4356][927-2357][988-0099]
Trusted ID Trusted ID,IDSafe, 12 Month Subscription, Digital Delivery CSTID12 [421-6594]
TV Tuner and Remote Control No TV Tuner Requested

I went to Dell and built one there (a lot easier than cyberpowerpc) and came up with this which is $725 AND includes a 22" Full HD monitor:
Would you say this is a good setup for the price?
Inspiron 620 ST Inspiron 620 Slimtower w/ Black Bezel MSBBH [225-1033]
Operating System Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium, 64Bit, English W7HPCY1 [318-0455][330-6097][331-2553][420-6436][420-6576][420-9352][420-9691][420-9841][421-0092][421-0756][421-2087][421-3645][421-4047][421-4582][421-4583][421-4652][421-5577][421-5693][421-5953][421-5954][421-6194][463-2282]
Processors 2nd Generation Intel® Core™ i5-2320 processor (3.0GHz with 6MB Cache) MSI5232 [317-8408]
Memory 8GB Dual Channel DDR3 SDRAM at 1333MHz - 2 DIMMs 8G1332D [317-7005]
Keyboard Dell USB Entry Keyboard EKL [330-3620]
Monitor ST2220L 21.5-inch Full HD Widescreen Monitor ST2220L [320-9311]
Video Card Intel® HD Graphics IHD2000 [320-2052]
Hard Drive 1TB Serial ATA Hard Drive (7200RPM) w/DataBurst Cache™ 1TBS [342-2718]
Color Bezels Black Bezel BLACK [318-0937]
Floppy Drive Integrated 8 in 1 Media Card Reader 8MCR [331-2590]
Mouse Dell USB Optical Mouse OMI [330-8652]
Network Card Standard USB 2.0 + 10/100/1000 Ethernet IE [430-3775]
Modem No Dial Up Modem Option N [313-3137]
Adobe Software Adobe® Acrobat® Reader AAREAD [410-0547]
Optical Drives 16X DVD+/-RW Drive W7DVDRW [318-0857][421-4542]
Sound Integrated 5.1 IS [331-2594]
Wireless Dell Wireless 1502 (802.11n) WLAN half mini-Card DW1502 [430-4262]
Office Productivity Software (Pre-Installed) Microsoft® Office Home and Student 2010 DHS [410-0451]
Security Software McAfee SecurityCenter, 15-Months MCEM15M [410-0569]
Service 1 Year Basic Support T1OSS [420-8878][938-9273][938-9973][950-3337][950-9797][983-3680]
Protection DataSafe 2.0 Online Backup 2GB for 1 year DSO2G [421-4356][927-2357][988-0099]
Trusted ID Trusted ID,IDSafe, 12 Month Subscription, Digital Delivery CSTID12 [421-6594]
TV Tuner and Remote Control No TV Tuner Requested
That is USB 3.0 for you, for the longest time they didn't have a standard internal connection port for the motherboard, so the only way to have front USB connectors was to do that, route it outside to the back of the motherboard.
There is a standard now, so that process should phase out eventually.
There is a standard now, so that process should phase out eventually.
Anyways the only thing that is lacking really is a video card.. The one included is onboard, those are usually caca.
Sure it'll be fine for simple things but it'd be best to get a dedicated one if you do any gaming and watch 1080p HD videos.
Sure it'll be fine for simple things but it'd be best to get a dedicated one if you do any gaming and watch 1080p HD videos.
Sweet. I think I am going to pull the trigger when I get home. But I assume not all video cards will work with all systems etc?
Can you recommend a ~$100 video card for that system I posted? I will just install it afterwards.
Thanks!
Can you recommend a ~$100 video card for that system I posted? I will just install it afterwards.
Thanks!
No, the built in Core i5 graphics on Sandy Bridge are plenty for 1080p video and light gaming. Actually if I were you I'd wait until Ivy Bridge comes out in April or May. There's gonna be a big GPU improvement in the builtin graphics on that thing.
Intel builds the GPU onto the same chip as the CPU and that makes it much better than the Intel graphics of old that were built on to the mobo.
Here's what anandtech says about upcoming Ivy Bridge
Also that wasn't final silicon, Anandtech did that review without final drivers and without Intel's knowledge. Things could be even better than what they saw.
If I were you I'd get the Core i5 (if you don't want to wait a couple months for the next CPUs) and try it out and if it's not good enough for you (probably will be though) then just add a discrete GPU later.
Intel builds the GPU onto the same chip as the CPU and that makes it much better than the Intel graphics of old that were built on to the mobo.
Here's what anandtech says about upcoming Ivy Bridge
The improvement on the GPU side is significant. Although not nearly the jump we saw going to Sandy Bridge last year. Ivy's GPU finally puts Intel's processor graphics into the realm of reasonable for a system with low end GPU needs. Based on what we've seen, discrete GPUs below the $50 - $60 mark don't make sense if you've got Intel's HD 4000 inside your system. The discrete market above $100 remains fairly safe however.
With Ivy Bridge you aren't limited to playing older titles, although you are still limited to relatively low quality settings on newer games. If you're willing to trade off display resolution you can reach a much better balance. We are finally able to deliver acceptable performance at or above 1366 x 768. With the exception of Metro 2033, the games we tested even showed greater than 30 fps at 1680 x 1050. The fact that we were able to run Crysis: Warhead at 1680 x 1050 at over 50 fps on free graphics from Intel is sort of insane when you think about where Intel was just a few years ago.
Whether or not this is enough for mainstream gaming really depends on your definition of that segment of the market. Being able to play brand new titles at reasonable frame rates as realistic resolutions is a bar that Intel has safely met. I hate to sound like a broken record but Ivy Bridge continues Intel's march in the right direction when it comes to GPU performance.
With Ivy Bridge you aren't limited to playing older titles, although you are still limited to relatively low quality settings on newer games. If you're willing to trade off display resolution you can reach a much better balance. We are finally able to deliver acceptable performance at or above 1366 x 768. With the exception of Metro 2033, the games we tested even showed greater than 30 fps at 1680 x 1050. The fact that we were able to run Crysis: Warhead at 1680 x 1050 at over 50 fps on free graphics from Intel is sort of insane when you think about where Intel was just a few years ago.
Whether or not this is enough for mainstream gaming really depends on your definition of that segment of the market. Being able to play brand new titles at reasonable frame rates as realistic resolutions is a bar that Intel has safely met. I hate to sound like a broken record but Ivy Bridge continues Intel's march in the right direction when it comes to GPU performance.
If I were you I'd get the Core i5 (if you don't want to wait a couple months for the next CPUs) and try it out and if it's not good enough for you (probably will be though) then just add a discrete GPU later.
Last edited by #1 STUNNA; Mar 26, 2012 at 05:20 PM.
Can't wait because the particular setup I posted is part of a 35% off special that ends in 10 hours! I think the computer Ken told me to get isn't part of that 35% off deal, so I don't know how he got to that price with those additions.
WTF. When I customize mine, it doesn't give me the option for the AMD video card...
Edit: nevermind. Found out why. I started from the 35% off screen and built it from there, it doesn't offer the AMD vid card in that deal. If I start from the regular section I can choose the vid card, but it isn't 35% off, but still something like 27% off..
Edit: nevermind. Found out why. I started from the 35% off screen and built it from there, it doesn't offer the AMD vid card in that deal. If I start from the regular section I can choose the vid card, but it isn't 35% off, but still something like 27% off..
Last edited by imj0257; Mar 26, 2012 at 07:43 PM.
Alright I went ahead and got the PC without the AMD video card because I was told by some pc knowledgable people that it wasn't even worth the $70 they were charging, so I am going to buy and install a video card myself.
Can anyone recommend a good (doesn't have to be awesome) vid card?
. I hope to spend $100-$150 max.
I hope they are easy to install.
Can anyone recommend a good (doesn't have to be awesome) vid card?
. I hope to spend $100-$150 max. I hope they are easy to install.
No, the built in Core i5 graphics on Sandy Bridge are plenty for 1080p video and light gaming. Actually if I were you I'd wait until Ivy Bridge comes out in April or May. There's gonna be a big GPU improvement in the builtin graphics on that thing.
Intel builds the GPU onto the same chip as the CPU and that makes it much better than the Intel graphics of old that were built on to the mobo.
Here's what anandtech says about upcoming Ivy Bridge
Also that wasn't final silicon, Anandtech did that review without final drivers and without Intel's knowledge. Things could be even better than what they saw.
If I were you I'd get the Core i5 (if you don't want to wait a couple months for the next CPUs) and try it out and if it's not good enough for you (probably will be though) then just add a discrete GPU later.
Intel builds the GPU onto the same chip as the CPU and that makes it much better than the Intel graphics of old that were built on to the mobo.
Here's what anandtech says about upcoming Ivy Bridge
Also that wasn't final silicon, Anandtech did that review without final drivers and without Intel's knowledge. Things could be even better than what they saw.
If I were you I'd get the Core i5 (if you don't want to wait a couple months for the next CPUs) and try it out and if it's not good enough for you (probably will be though) then just add a discrete GPU later.
Getting a discrete video card is not just about improved graphics performance..
Alright I went ahead and got the PC without the AMD video card because I was told by some pc knowledgable people that it wasn't even worth the $70 they were charging, so I am going to buy and install a video card myself.
Can anyone recommend a good (doesn't have to be awesome) vid card?
. I hope to spend $100-$150 max.
I hope they are easy to install.
Can anyone recommend a good (doesn't have to be awesome) vid card?
. I hope to spend $100-$150 max. I hope they are easy to install.
I see not many of you build systems 
An upgrade of video card is definitely something you want to do, you never want to share RAM with the video card. Vram is what you want. And you WILL be required to get a better Power Supply. The processor is fair for the money.
2nd factor, hd and ram would be a fair brand. Keep in mind there are only TWO dimm slots, so if you wanted more RAM...well you're out of luck.
I'm actually looking to build a new system. I have no clue what happened to mine. It freezes at bios or sometimes at windows initial load, and sometimes it works like a champ. I've already tested everything, and it is still doing it. I think the motherboard maybe on its way out.
check this site out, they sometimes offer unreal bargains. http://www.cyberpowerpc.com/

An upgrade of video card is definitely something you want to do, you never want to share RAM with the video card. Vram is what you want. And you WILL be required to get a better Power Supply. The processor is fair for the money.
2nd factor, hd and ram would be a fair brand. Keep in mind there are only TWO dimm slots, so if you wanted more RAM...well you're out of luck.
I'm actually looking to build a new system. I have no clue what happened to mine. It freezes at bios or sometimes at windows initial load, and sometimes it works like a champ. I've already tested everything, and it is still doing it. I think the motherboard maybe on its way out.
check this site out, they sometimes offer unreal bargains. http://www.cyberpowerpc.com/
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814161403

Radeon HD 7750?
Or maybe a HD 6770?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814127590

Radeon HD 7750?
Or maybe a HD 6770?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814127590












