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Technical & Scientific => Hardware => Topic started by: Mike on May 12, 2011, 11:32:04 PM

Title: Computer build specs
Post by: Mike on May 12, 2011, 11:32:04 PM
Ok time for me to upgrade this damn thing.

Decided to go back to building the PC this time.

Here is what I've got

PartDetailsCostLink
CPUi5 2500K 3.3 GHz$224.99http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115072
MotherboardASRock P67 Extreme$159.99http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157229
RAMDDR3 1x4G$46.99http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820233141
CaseRosewill Destroyer$49.99http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811147144
Video CardMSI N460GTX Cyclone$194.99http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127510
Power SupplyCorsair HX 1000W$229.99http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139007
Hard DriveSeagate 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 6.0$74.99http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148727
Optical DriveLiteOn Blu-ray Reader$55.99http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827106325
OSWindows 7 Pro 64 Bit$129.99http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116992

I plan on adding more RAM in later which is why I chose the 1x4 option.  The above puts the cost at about $1300 with tax and shipping.  That is about my limit right now.
Title: Re: Computer build specs
Post by: KnuckleBuckett on May 13, 2011, 06:34:00 AM
Memory
Understanding you are adding more ram and are near your budget, you should buy ram in pairs for full performance.

Video Card
The 4xx series is video cards have been replaced by the 5xx series.  The 5 series dramatically drops the power requirements and by default heat and noise issues. 

Consider this?  I understand this is more expensive but the 4xx series has been abandoned for a while now.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814162074

Here is a brief overview of a direct comparison between the two. 
http://www.hexus.net/content/item.php?item=28691&page=9

Mobo
Nice mobo.  I am going to throw out another option.  This one has a nice Intel LAN chipset.  I have always found this to be a plus.  Nothing major but it is easily missed in specs.  Also Asus had a nice UEFI "BIOS".
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131703

PS
Again great choice.  I think it is overkill.  When I built my latest having moved from the aforementioned GTX 4xx series to the GTX570, I picked this out.  No regrets.  I can even put in another identical video card and have more than enough headroom to overclock the system in summer temperatures.  This saves you enough $$ to update to the 5xx video solution.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139011
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139011
Title: Re: Computer build specs
Post by: Steve on May 13, 2011, 06:47:55 AM
That motherboard sucks, go with something else.

The hard drive is OK but if I were you I would go Western Digital.

Power supply is beautiful.

Video card is perfect because you don't demand the every edge in gaming. The 5 series is better, but you personally aren't going to notice the difference.

Ram is good. Matching pairs are nice, but the only place you will ever give a rats ass is on a benchmark and those are just numbers. If the ram is name brand and of the same spec it can be any brand in any order in mixed and matched sizes. Who cares if they match as long as the specs do. I perfer my sizes to match also (ie 2GB x 4 instead of 2gb x 2, 1gb x 2 or 2gb x 1, 1gb x 3 etc) but you can do whatever the hell you want. Name brand quality ram in any bank order and your ass dyno won't see a difference to matched.

That's my rant /
Title: Re: Computer build specs
Post by: KnuckleBuckett on May 13, 2011, 09:29:41 AM
That motherboard sucks, go with something else.

Why does it suck?  I haven't used it, but I am curious.

The hard drive is OK but if I were you I would go Western Digital.
I find the major manufacturers to be nearly identical in durability these days.

Power supply is beautiful.
True but overkill don't you think?

Video card is perfect because you don't demand the every edge in gaming. The 5 series is better, but you personally aren't going to notice the difference.
I was mentioning the 5xx series for the noise and power upgrades.  Perfomance is a bonus and it never hurts, especially if you can reduce power consumption and noise at the same time.

Ram is good. Matching pairs are nice, but the only place you will ever give a rats ass is on a benchmark and those are just numbers. If the ram is name brand and of the same spec it can be any brand in any order in mixed and matched sizes. Who cares if they match as long as the specs do. I perfer my sizes to match also (ie 2GB x 4 instead of 2gb x 2, 1gb x 2 or 2gb x 1, 1gb x 3 etc) but you can do whatever the hell you want. Name brand quality ram in any bank order and your ass dyno won't see a difference to matched.

What do yo mean the benchmarks are just numbers?  A single benchmark might be, but seen as a whole they help the consumer to differentiate products. 

That's my rant /
Title: Re: Computer build specs
Post by: Mike on May 13, 2011, 09:31:04 AM
Thanks.

As far as a PS, how well would a 650W do?  I have one in an upgrade-really-old-box attempt.

I did end up switching to a WD drive simply because for a few dollars more it was a bit better (more cache for one)
Title: Re: Computer build specs
Post by: Mike on May 13, 2011, 11:53:44 AM
Ordered (with 850W PS)
Title: Re: Computer build specs
Post by: KnuckleBuckett on May 13, 2011, 03:07:16 PM
Which mobo?
Title: Re: Computer build specs
Post by: Mike on May 13, 2011, 03:37:39 PM
Final parts list:
N82E16832116992   WIN 7 PRO SP1 64BIT ENG 1PK DSP %   1   129.99
N82E16819115072   CPU INTEL|CORE I5 2500K 3.3G 6M R   1   224.99
N82E16813131703   MB ASUS|P8P67 PRO (REV 3.0) P67 R   1   179.99
N82E16820233141   MEM 4G|CORSAIR CMZ4GX3M1A1600C9 R   2   46.99
N82E16814162074   VGA GALAXY 56NGH6HS4IXZ R   1   239.99
N82E16822136533   HD 1T|WD 7K 64M SATAIII WD1002FAEX   1   89.99
N82E16817139011   PSU CORSAIR|CMPSU-850HX 850W RT   1   164.99
N82E16827106325   BLU-RAY DRIVE LITE-ON| IHOS104-06 %   1   55.99
N82E16811147144   CASE ROSEWILL| DESTROYER RT   1   49.99


And they've already shipped the goods (talk about a fast process).  I expect it'll be Wednesday before it gets here but we'll see.  It is coming from a 2 two zone but it was a 3 day option.
Title: Re: Computer build specs
Post by: KnuckleBuckett on May 13, 2011, 05:01:51 PM
Nice build. 

Let me know if you have any issues in the build.
Title: Re: Computer build specs
Post by: Mike on May 13, 2011, 05:08:44 PM
I'm wondering if I should get another HD and set it up as a RAID.... meh, don't really need it at this point.
Title: Re: Computer build specs
Post by: Steve on May 13, 2011, 05:45:21 PM
I went through three of those motherboard building my boss's new computer a few weeks ago. First two had solder coming off, third was a no post for unknown reasons.

I don't think the psu is overkill. I think its probably perfect honestly.

Ram benchmarks are good, but mixing brands and sizes doesn't create any noticeable issues when good ram is used. I have never been one too rely on tests anyway. My watercooled rig (first one I think, maybe #2) used to BM considerably lower then similar setups on air yet when lan parties came due I would make them all look like ancient laggy pieces of crap. You can also gear towards better BM numbers but not show that in actual performance. Operating system also comes into play. They have their place but not in my decision making.

Sorry if I didn't address other points I'm mobile.
Title: Re: Computer build specs
Post by: KnuckleBuckett on May 13, 2011, 07:24:02 PM
I went through three of those motherboard building my boss's new computer a few weeks ago. First two had solder coming off, third was a no post for unknown reasons.

I don't think the psu is overkill. I think its probably perfect honestly.

Ram benchmarks are good, but mixing brands and sizes doesn't create any noticeable issues when good ram is used. I have never been one too rely on tests anyway. My watercooled rig (first one I think, maybe #2) used to BM considerably lower then similar setups on air yet when lan parties came due I would make them all look like ancient laggy pieces of crap. You can also gear towards better BM numbers but not show that in actual performance. Operating system also comes into play. They have their place but not in my decision making.

Sorry if I didn't address other points I'm mobile.

I seriously doubt that 1000 is just right for that system.  Unless he plans to run a couple of serious cards in SLI someday.

Never bothered with water cooling.  More trouble than it is worth IMO.

Interesting about the Asrock.  Bummer to hear their quality has issues.  Typical of the brand?
Title: Re: Computer build specs
Post by: Steve on May 13, 2011, 11:07:10 PM
Not from what I hear but wasn't good for me.

And my bad I thought it was an 850w
Title: Re: Computer build specs
Post by: Mike on May 14, 2011, 10:48:54 AM
Scheduled delivery date is Tuesday.  I foresee me getting "sick" after lunch that day
Title: Re: Computer build specs
Post by: KnuckleBuckett on May 14, 2011, 06:54:57 PM
 :D
Title: Re: Computer build specs
Post by: Mike on May 16, 2011, 12:09:16 AM
I gotta remember to not do this stuff on Fridays.  The wait is really annoying :D
Title: Re: Computer build specs
Post by: Mike on May 16, 2011, 12:42:53 AM
Hmmm, UPS shipment is in town.  Now the question is will they hold it to deliver on Tuesday or deliver it tomorrow....
Title: Re: Computer build specs
Post by: Steve on May 16, 2011, 08:50:18 AM
Hmmm, UPS shipment is in town.  Now the question is will they hold it to deliver on Tuesday or deliver it tomorrow....

With UPS you never can tell. It's hard to figure out of they will even show up to the right place half the time. Why not go FedEX?
Title: Re: Computer build specs
Post by: Mike on May 16, 2011, 10:28:23 AM
Actually, the UPS here is better than FedEx.  At least UPS is smart enough to reach over my fence and put the packages on the table vs FedEx who leaves them in front of my door (in plain view of the street).  Plus I now know where the UPS guy has lunch.  The only problems I've had with them is that sometimes they don't mark the shipments as out for delivery (luckily I knew it was suppose to be delivered that day and took the time off) and their pick-up for missed deliveries doesn't start until 9pm.

I can, honestly, see both scenarios happening.  If they want to get it out of their warehouse then they'll deliver it today.  If they got a lot of shipments to my area over the weekend then they might hold off on my package since they have another day.

Oh and UPS was the cheaper route.
Title: Re: Computer build specs
Post by: webwhy on May 16, 2011, 11:09:25 AM
i agree.  fedex sucks here as well.  they won't deliver anything without a "correct" address, which includes omitting the suite number.  It happens to us all the time (both our fault and sender's fault).    Since we're in a relatively small building with three tenants, UPS always makes the effort to deliver the packages.  FedEx won't even try.
Title: Re: Computer build specs
Post by: KnuckleBuckett on May 16, 2011, 12:18:51 PM
Fedex is a bitch here too.  If everything isn't perfect and "their" way it goes back.  Furthermore picking it up from them is a bitch for me.  UPS all the way in my area.
Title: Re: Computer build specs
Post by: Steve on May 16, 2011, 02:58:02 PM
Here Fedex gets it right and the others dont lol
Title: Re: Computer build specs
Post by: Mike on May 17, 2011, 11:19:31 PM
/tear-of-joy
Title: Re: Computer build specs
Post by: KnuckleBuckett on May 18, 2011, 06:33:32 AM
Nice.  I take it that the system build went well?
Title: Re: Computer build specs
Post by: Mike on May 18, 2011, 11:14:42 AM
Some ups and downs with the assembly, mainly due to not doing it in a decade and a lot of things changing.

Initial parts reactions:
Case: Power supply on the bottom, that's new.  *thinking* but that makes sense, opens the top for an exhaust fan
Motherboard: Talk about a lot of heat sinks
CPU: Hmmm, no pins.  Definitely a good thing.  LOVE the new heatsink/fan mounting system.  Beats the crap out of that old flexible metal bar that went over the heatsink that you could never seem to get the angle on to clip it in place.
RAM:  My RAM has heatsinks
Video card: O.M.F.G.  The thing is a beast.  The think takes two PSU connections, has two fans, good size tubing which I assume is for heatsinking.

Assembly:
Only cut myself once and scratched (but no cut) twice.  Assembly was pretty straight forward.  The MB manual laid out all the important bits well.  Had a little problem getting the MB to line up with the mounting holes due to the ports face plate.  But some adjusting and doing the screws in the right order (starting with the most troublesome hole first) fixed that right up.  The front case fan used the 4 pin PSU connector but two of the pins didn't want to go in the connector.  They actually ended up pushing back out.  Luckily the two that stayed in are the two the fan was connected to and none of my devices use those type of connectors.  So no lose.

Went to start up the computer for the first time and got nothing.  Ended up pull out all the front panel connections and redoing them one by one (well at least until the power and reset worked) and it worked.

Software:
Windows 7 installed pretty quickly.  However, it didn't have the drivers for the on-board LAN so had to install those from the MB CD.  Once I did that everything else was peachy.

Gaming:  Installed a few games, one of which made my previous PC cry like a bitch on even the lowest settings.  Turned the settings up all the way and the new PC basically did a "bitch please.  That's all you've got?".  It is a whole new world of gaming!!!
Title: Re: Computer build specs
Post by: KnuckleBuckett on May 18, 2011, 12:16:02 PM
I really like isolating the PS from the rest of the case.  I look for that feature in all my cases.

The tubing on the video card extends from the heat sink block on the GPU to the cooling fins.  They are heat pipes.  Essentially liquid (various) inside evaporates when heated then condenses and falls/wicks back to the block again.  It is an very popular cooling tactic these days.  Supposedly provides for faster more efficient heat transfer.

Lots of folks fight the rear port face plate.  They can be a pain.

Glad to hear that you are enjoying it.  What game(s) are you playing?
Title: Re: Computer build specs
Post by: Mike on May 18, 2011, 12:45:39 PM
I put: Eve Online, Rift, and Demigod on it.  Demigod was the one that I could barely play before.  Eve and Rift went from "ok" to "WOW"
Title: Re: Computer build specs
Post by: KnuckleBuckett on May 18, 2011, 02:36:01 PM
Eve looks wicked hard to get into.

Rift is getting really good reviews in the podcast world.

Check out Arkham asylum sometime when it is on sale on Steam.  If you watch you can pick it up for $5 to $10.  It should go on sale before or during the launch of the next Arkham City in October-ish.  Note that this is XBox gameplay.  PC with PhysX on blows it away.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dOqND_TTxH4

Bioshock 1 is also a really inexpensive game that is great on gameplay, story, and eye-candy.
Title: Re: Computer build specs
Post by: Steve on May 19, 2011, 12:09:33 PM
The heat pipe cooling is the only way to go. They have also began to incorporate it into water and vapo cooling setups and the temp drops are amazing.
Title: Re: Computer build specs
Post by: Mike on June 06, 2011, 07:14:07 PM
So I've been pushing about 70% RAM utilization while heavy gaming but only 40-50% CPU.  So I picked up another 8G of RAM that should be delivered today.  Sadly, that means I'll have as much RAM as our work's main production server...
Title: Re: Computer build specs
Post by: Steve on June 06, 2011, 07:18:26 PM
That's cuz ur running 3/4 games with downloads movies and skype :p
Title: Re: Computer build specs
Post by: Mike on June 06, 2011, 07:20:24 PM
Well the sad part isn't about me having 16G of RAM as much as the production server only having 16G of RAM...  Hell we spec'd out a new server and it was pretty cheap and easy to get ~100G of RAM
Title: Re: Computer build specs
Post by: Mike on March 13, 2012, 10:06:15 AM
I want to add another video card to this so I can run my third monitor.  Trying to decide if I want to go with the same card, newer card, or just a POS one...
Title: Re: Computer build specs
Post by: KnuckleBuckett on March 13, 2012, 06:36:44 PM
Why not get an AMD card that does that stuff from the factory.  Prices are great, drivers aren't as tight as Nvidia's, but for three monitors out of the box they are ideal.

6770 is a decent place to start.  We use maybe twenty at work (5770 and 6770).
Title: Re: Computer build specs
Post by: JaWiB on March 13, 2012, 09:11:54 PM
Just noticed you have the same case that I do.  :thumbsup:
Title: Re: Computer build specs
Post by: Mike on June 20, 2016, 10:08:41 PM
Well, after 5 years I think it is time to replace.  I'm getting a CPU temperature error and I think it is because the sensor is bad.

Gonna have to see what I can cannibalize.
Title: Re: Computer build specs
Post by: Mike on June 20, 2016, 10:44:00 PM
Ok, some initial searching says I should be able to keep everything except the CPU and motherboard.  Looks like going to DDR4 isn't worth it which means I can keep my RAM for now.

So I'm thinking:
CPU: Intel Core i5-6600K 6M Skylake Quad-Core 3.5 GHz (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819117561)
Motherboard: ASUS Z170-P D3 LGA 1151 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813132572)
Title: Re: Computer build specs
Post by: KnuckleBuckett on June 21, 2016, 06:15:32 AM
Looks ok to me.  Get a decent cooler.  Replacing your GPU?
Title: Re: Computer build specs
Post by: Mike on June 21, 2016, 08:24:41 AM
I'll probably replace the GPU next month or so.
Title: Re: Computer build specs
Post by: KnuckleBuckett on June 22, 2016, 06:21:16 AM
Saw this.  http://www.microcenter.com/product/451883/Core_i7-6700K_40GHz_LGA_1151_Boxed_Processor

In that more applications are starting to use hyperthreading it is worth a look.  I, for the first time, went i7 with my recent build.
Title: Re: Computer build specs
Post by: Mike on June 22, 2016, 11:04:58 PM
New equipment installed.  Had to go to Fry's and get the CPU fan because I forgot that and that thing is HUGE!  It has a bracket that goes under the motherboard and sticks up almost the entire width of the tower.  The biggest bitch was that it made a few of the fan connects extremely difficult to get to.  Oh, and that grinding fan noise?  Yeah it turns out that is the chassis fan so gonna be replacing that real quick.

And now to see how badly Win 10 complains
Title: Re: Computer build specs
Post by: KnuckleBuckett on June 23, 2016, 06:09:21 AM
All fans blow in except the rear back fan.  Yeah even the top fans.  Next time get a liquid cooler maybe.